Idol threat to lakes in city

With the city’s Ganesh associations targeting one lakh pandals this year, Hyderabad’s lakes are in grave danger. Last year 48,333 idols were immersed only in Hussainsagar, of which 29,391 (more than 60 per cent) had chemicals and metallic colours, while just 18,942 idols had natural and vegetable colours.

To overcome these effects and save the lakes, experts at the AP Pollution Control Board have been conducting trials and experiments to check if the Ganesh idols can be made with ingredi- ents which when immersed, will also clean the pollution in water.

Prasanna Kumar, a social scientist with the APPCB said, “One such example are drumstick seeds that have a property of soaking up dirt when immersed in water. We have been checking if the idols can be made with these ingredients like sulphates and phosphates to see if they can have multi-purpose uses.”

The APPCB is spending `31.5 lakh in distributing 3feet clay Ganesh idols across the city and an additional `2 lakh on small Ganesh idols in Hyderabad.

The Board’s water sample tests at the Hussainsagar before and after the festival, last year, had shown a rise in the level of pollution.

However, the APPCB is still not adopting new measures or effective control techniques to curb pollution in lakes.

With only small Ganesh idols being eco-friendly, the pollution levels are still alarming as most community Ganesh idols are made of plaster-of-Paris and lakes have to bear the brunt.

Mr Kumar added, “There is definitely a greater need for clay idols from this season onwards. The National Green Tribunal, the Central Pollution Control Board and the High Court have all been insisting on the need for promoting clay idols. But the larger problem lies in the fact that most Ganesh associations look for attractive and colourful idols that are made of plaster-of-Paris and really harmful chemicals. And when they immerse the idol, along with it goes a lot of plastic decorative items and metal articles that should be stopped. The debris and the idols that are immersed have to be cleared within 48 hours of the festival, but we see that these are lying even after one month.