Immersion of idols: Green touch to Ganesh festivities in Hyderabad

GHMC coming up with a number of innovative measures, right from artificial a.k.a baby ponds near water bodies, to portable ponds, and now, ponds at the door step too!

Hyderabad: From the days families went in a procession to the Hussain Sagar or a water body near home, accompanied by music, dance and colour, to bid farewell to Lord Ganesha after nine days, things are changing in Hyderabad for the Ganesh festival, one of the biggest festivities in the city.

While the conventional celebrations and processions are still on in a big way, an eye on the environment has seen the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) coming up with a number of innovative measures, right from artificial a.k.a baby ponds near water bodies, to portable ponds, and now, ponds at the door step too!

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While the baby ponds are growing in number, by 22 this year, the corporation is introducing 24 portable ponds as well. However, what takes the cake in the eco-friendly culture that the civic body is adding to the festival is the introduction of mobile immersion ponds, which will see an artificial pond fitted onto an auto-trolley reaching the doorstep based on requests from the devotees. The innovation, inaugurated by Cinematography Minister T Srinivas Yadav on Friday, will be run as a CSR initiative by the Freedom Group of Companies.

Even as the GHMC is also promoting clay Ganesh idols in a major way this year, another CSR initiative to protect the environment being introduced this year is the clay Ganesh idols that will grow into a plant in a few weeks after they are immersed in a tree pot.

The companies that are giving their CSR initiatives an eco friendly Ganesh touch with clay Idols that grow into a plant after immersion in tree pots include Re Sustainability (previously Ramky Enviro Engineers Limited).

Meanwhile, after installing portable ponds that can be assembled and dismantled, the GHMC is constructing temporary ponds in different parts of the city to facilitate immersion.

“Idols less than four feet can be immersed in them. The construction cost of each temporary pond is Rs.6 lakh,” a GHMC official said, adding that four of these were being built in LB Nagar zone, five each in Charminar and Khairatabad zone and three each in Secunderabad and Serilingampally zones. The Kukatpally zone will have two such ponds.