Artificial ponds await Bappa, but devotees prefer riverarticle

While Ganesh idols are being immersed in the Sabarmati river, artificial ponds lining up the riverbank remain idle.

Violating the police notification, Ganpati idols are being immersed in large numbers in the Sabarmati for the past few days despite the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) having spent Rs66 lakh this year to dig up 21 artificial ponds near the river for visarjan.

So, whose responsibility is it to stop people from immersing idols in the river? Is it the civic body or the police? The answer seems to be blowing in the wind as the AMC and the police have been blaming each other for this rampant violation of the police notification.

“We have not received any orders to stop people from immersing the idols. Our role is to give protection on the day of visarjan. If the artificial ponds have been dug up by the AMC, then it is their duty to direct people towards the ponds,” said GS Raol, police inspector of Ellisbridge police station.

However, denying that it is AMC’s responsibility, a civic official, who is also in charge of digging such ponds, said: “We’ve written to the police twice to inform about the ongoing immersion in the river. But, there has been no action. The notification was issued by the police and the AMC is just helping in implementing the notification by digging artificial ponds.”

The police had issued a notification on August 7, imposing a ban on the immersion of PoP (plaster of Paris) idols in natural water bodies. Unlike last year, when the ban was imposed on the manufacture and immersion of PoP idols, this year, the city police have issued a notification banning the immersion of idols in natural water bodies.

However, Sanjay Srivastava, the joint commissioner of police in charge of Sector I, said police arrangements would be tightened on the day of visarjan.

“We are working towards the goal of implementing the notification.

We will be deputing a lot of police staff near the river to stop the people from immersing idols in the river and near the artificial ponds and major roads as part of police protection,” said Srivastava.