BMC urges to avoid immersion in Sheetal Talao

The BMC has requested that no Ganeshotsav mandals immerse Ganesh idols in Sheetal Talao, one of the significant lakes in Sion, as it will soon be undergoing renovation. The Ganesh mandals from Chunabhatti and Sion will now need to travel to Mahim  Retibunder or Dadar Chowpatty for immersion.

 

Wednesday marks the start of the 11-day celebration. On the second, fifth, seventh and eleventh days of the celebration, Ganesh idols are submerged in 73 natural lakes spread throughout the city. The plaster of Paris idols is difficult to disintegrate in water. The city's local government has set up 162 man-made lakes as a means of environmental preservation. However, certain Ganeshotsav mandals favour submerging idols in freshwater bodies of water.

 

"We've worked to make Sheetal Talao more beautiful. Following immersion, the water's colour changes in 3–4 months, and the fish also perishes. Therefore, up to 10 p.m., we will only permit immersion in the lake of household Ganesh idols. Gajanan Bellale, the Assistant Municipal commissioner for F south, stated, "We have requested the mandals to immerse idols in either Dadar Chowpatty or Mahim Retibunder.

 

The Ganeshotsav mandals in Sion and Chunabhatti have been angered by this, though. "How can we set up something that quickly? It would be more expensive and inconvenient to transfer the idols to Dadar Chowpatty or another location for immersion, according to Jay Poojary, a member of the Sardar Nagar Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal.

 

"The BMC ought to have made the changes known sooner. The mandals would have gladly accepted the announcement and would have sought a substitute had it been made a year in advance, according to senior Congress politician and former Sion councillor Ravi Raja. The BMC has launched a pilot project to enhance the water quality at Dingeshwar Lake near Charkop in Kandivali and Sheetal Talao on N.S. Mankikar marg in Sion, better known as Sion Talao. The bioremediation procedure will be used to purify the water in these lakes.