With the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) failing to set up immersion ponds (kunds) near the riverfront, Bappa's idols found their way into Sabarmati river during visarjan. Finding the artificial immersion ponds still under construction, devotees who came to immerse idols on the first day had to turn to Sabarmati for the ritual."As responsible citizens, they first approached the kund. However, since it was under construction and they had no alternative, they had to immerse them in the river," said a citizen who said similar scenes were witnessed across the riverfront."People were not allowed inside. It was the security who immersed the idols," said the citizen. He said several more people came to immerse the idols by evening.
This year the civic body had also proposed not to provide crane facilities to immerse large idols, which it hoped would bring down the number of idols being immersed in rivers.
Standing committee chairman Amul Bhatt said that while some immersion ponds were still under construction, 10 have already been made to facilitate devotees. When asked why idols are being immersed in the river, Bhatt said the devotees' insistence to immerse the idols the traditional way rather than in artificial ponds might be a reason behind it.It should be noted that for the last many years, particularly after the Gujarat High Court verdict in 2018, the civic body had been building artificial ponds where devotees could immerse the idols.It had helped bring down the number of idols that were immersed in the river. Last year, the civic body spent Rs 54 lakh to create 19 such immersion ponds along the riverfront and different areas of the city. It had also increased the depth of ponds following complaints that the ponds were too shallow to immerse idols.
Not so eco-friendly departure
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| In 2018 Gujarat high court issued directive prohibiting idol immersion in river |
| Last year, the civic body spent Rs 54 lakh to create 19 such immersion ponds along the riverfront and different areas of the city |
| The AMC had also increased the depth of ponds following complaints that the ponds were too shallow to immerse idol |
| The police had also issued a notification banning immersion of idols made of Plaster of Paris (POP) in rivers |
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