Mumbai: More than 36,000 idols, including 5,937 sarvjanik or community ones, 30,490 households and 319 Hartalika/Gauri idols, were immersed across the city till 6pm on Sunday, as the devotees bid farewell to Lord Ganesha.This Ganeshotsav, nearly 2 lakh idols were immersed in 70 natural water bodies and about 290 artificial ponds created by BMC across the city.In Thane, a total of 9,861 Ganesh idols, including 372 sarvjanik ones, were immersed on Anant Chaturdashi by 7.30am on Sunday, while in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, a total of 10,678 idols were immersed, including 9,929 household and 749 sarvjanik ones.Adhering to the Bombay High Court’s order to recycle plaster of paris (PoP) idols during the festival, BMC retrieved 1,982 tonnes of PoP till 2pm Sunday. BMC had issued a set of Standard Operating Procedures for retrieving immersed idols.Naresh Dahibavkar of Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti said: “Overall, the immersions went off smoothly and all the agencies including BMC, police and traffic police, were cooperative and coordinated well. There were some hitches in the form of delays in immersion caused by the rain and lack of a declared holiday on Saturday for employees of private firms and agencies like co-operative banks. A few mandals, including Chintamani mandal from Chinchpokli and another mandal from Girgaum, faced delays in their immersion process.”BMC collected a total of 508 tonnes of nirmalya or floral waste. It deployed a total of 10,000 personnel, including officials, and set up 245 control rooms for immersion arrangements.Of the total 9,861 idols immersed in Thane, 5,390 were PoP. Around 510 idols were over 6ft tall, of which 188 were made of PoP. TMC officials claimed a 67% increase in idol immersions at artificial ponds compared to last year. “Our alternative arrangements like special immersion tanks, mobile visarjan units, and idol collection centers also received encouraging response. Over 32 tonnes of nirmalya (floral offerings) were collected, which will be processed into organic compost,” said a TMC official.However, activists raised concerns about alleged violations of the high court directives, claiming few small POP idols were still immersed in natural water bodies.In Navi Mumbai, more than 43,000 idols were immersed at 165 designated sites, including 143 artificial ponds, this Ganeshtosav, said civic officials.
