.jpg?width=1200)
Mira Bhayandar: The tall claims made by the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) in context to taking proactive measures towards facilitating an environment-friendly Ganesh-Utsav festivities stands exposed.
Custodian of trees in the twin-city, the civic administration has miserably failed in safeguarding them from being targeted by local political leaders to publicising themselves by installing banners under the garb of extending wishes and welcoming devotees during the ongoing Ganesh-Utsav festivities.
Apart from electric light poles, signals and other public places, the worst affected are the trees which are being brazenly nailed and stapled with flex banners. The tree trunks and stems act like veins in the human body, where water and nourishment are circulated within the tree.
By nailing advertisements to the trunks, the offenders are blocking the free flow of this nourishment for the trees, due to which they suffer immensely and some eventually die. To put the brakes on the biggest eyesore, the civic administration had passed a resolution to roll-back the system of giving permissions for putting up temporary flex banners and hoardings from 1, October, 2018.
However, there is no control of the activities such as putting up of illegal hoardings and flex banners- mostly by political parties in violation of the Maharashtra Prevention of Defacement of Public Property Act, 1995.
On the other hand, despite the number of immersions in the artificial ponds crossing the 1,747-mark last year, which is indicative of eco-friendly acceptance by devotees, the MBMC has apparently failed in taking concrete steps-like launching awareness campaigns to encourage eco-friendly immersions in the four artificial ponds which have been created this year.
In an alarming revelation obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the MBMC has reportedly admitted that idols immersed in artificial lakes end up landing back into sea, creating confusion among devotees and raising questions on the environmental benefits of using artificial lakes for idol immersions.
Notably, the court has also issued directions to the government for diligently following the guidelines issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) regarding the immersion of Plaster of Paris (PoP)-made idols which include use of artificial ponds/tanks to minimise environmental damage by curbing water pollution.
