Ahmedabad: Ganesh Idols immersed in river despite ban

On Friday, Komal Ramrakhiyani, a citizen, was passing by the riverfront when she saw Ganesh idols being immersed in the river despite ban. She noticed that the colour of the river water had changed.

"It was a bad odour and I saw many people immersing their Ganesh idols in the water," said Ramrakhiyani. "There was no security guard or civic body officials to prevent them. People might not be aware of the rule but the authority should have put some checks in place,"

She said the colour of the water had changed because of the idol immersions. "Some houses in our locality are getting coloured water. The river now has flowers and other waste floating on the surface. It is a quite a sad scene here," she further said.

The police notification states that in accordance with the Environmental Protection Act, 1986, restrictions have been imposed on installation and immersion of Ganesh idols. The idols made of plaster of Paris should not be immersed in any water body including river, lakes, or ponds, but kept aside.

However, when contacted, Standing Committee Chairman of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Amul Bhatt said the incidents of immersion did not occur within the civic body's jurisdiction limits. "After getting call regarding the immersion thing, I have visited riverfront stretch. The idols were being immersed in the river but not in the jurisdiction of the AMC. There is no breach of rule regarding immersion within AMC limits," said Bhatt.

Incidents of Tajiya being immersed in the Sabarmati were also reported, but Bhatt said they, too, were not within city limits. "City's river is clean and pure. It is the rural parts where the violation has been reported. You can contact rural superintended of police and ask him," he said.

IT STINKS

Incidents of Tajiya being immersed in the Sabarmati were also reported, but Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Amul Bhatt said they, too, were not within city limits.