Mira Bhayandar: In a surprising move that is bound to upset environmentalists and nature lovers, the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has decided to reduce the number of artificial ponds from three to two for eco-friendly immersions of Lord Ganesh idols this year.
Moreover, the civic administration has also decided to scrap the idea of setting up idol collection centers. While the artificial ponds at Shivar Garden and Joggers Park in Mira Road have been retained, the facility at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Ground in Bhayandar has been discontinued.
Reason for withdrawing initiatives
According to highly placed sources in the MBMC, this decision follows a review that revealed a poor response to the initiatives, involving huge expenses in setting up the collection centres and needless deployment of manpower. The number of immersions in the three artificial ponds recorded by the civic administration crossed the 2,000-mark last year, indicative of awareness and eco-friendly acceptance by devotees. However, officials said that the 25 idol collection centers had remained nearly idle last year.
Eco-friendly farewells are crucial to check the unabated pollution of natural water bodies. The civic administration introduced the concept of eco-friendly immersions in 2012. Despite a slow start, the trend gained acceptance after the initiative was continued and highlighted in a much more elaborate manner.
Apart from the artificial ponds and collection points, the twin-city has a total of 24 immersion points, including creeks and natural water bodies. However, officials from the public works department claimed that partitions had been built inside 12 lakes for the immersion of idols. Apart from the 323 idols of Goddess Gauri that are immersed on the sixth day, the total number of Lord Ganesh idols that graced the twin-city had reached the 18,950 mark during Ganesh Utsav in 2022, indicating a 10 percent average rise every year. This year, the ten-day celebrations will begin on Tuesday, September 19.
