Breaching a 48-yr-old tradition to save Gomti
This Durga Puja, the Ramakrishna Math has decided to not immerse the idol of the Goddess in the river which, it says, is already gasping for breath. Instead, the Math will explore other options.
LUCKNOW: This year’s Durga puja will see the Ramakrishna Math breaching a 48-year-old tradition, for a good cause.
The Math has decided not to immerse the idol of Goddess Durga in river Gomti after the five-day celebrations. Either it will use a pit dug by the local authorities on the banks of the Gomti or make alternative arrangements.
“We are clear that we are not going to pollute the lifeline of our city—the river Gomti. Already it is gasping for breath. Even the Goddess will not be happy if we immerse the idol in the river and pollute its water further,” said Swami Mukhtinathananda, president of the Math.
He said, “We are exploring other options. We will have a close look at what the government is offering us as an alternative arrangement. If it matches our requirements, we will be happy to use it. Else we will make our private arrangements of immersing the idol. But we are not going to immerse it in Gomti.”
Swami made his decision known to a three-member delegation of concerned citizens of Lucknow who approached Math about alternative for immersion.
“We had a meeting with Swami Muktinathananda, chief of Ramakrishna Mission this afternoon. We gave the alternatives which have emerged in Delhi and elsewhere in the country and are working well,” said Jayant Krishna who was accompanied by Mehru Jaffar and Adity Chakravarty.
“Swami agreed that Ramakrishna Mission would not immerse Durga ji’s idol in Gomti in view of environmental concerns,” Krishna said.
“This is quite encouraging as it would hopefully encourage other puja samitis as well as the district administration to be firm in finding feasible alternatives without hurting the sentiments of the people and save our already endangered river from further degeneration,” Krishna said.
Every year after Durga puja, more than 120 Durga idols of Lucknow district and adjoining areas are immersed in the river. For the last couple of years, the district administration has been appealing
› We are not going to pollute the lifeline of our city—the river Gomti. Already it is gasping for breath. Even the Goddess will not be happy if we immerse the idol in the river and pollute its water. SWAMI MUKHTINATHANANDA, president of Ramakrishna Math.
to the puja organisers to immerse the idol in an artificial pit made by them. But the appeal has never evoked response.
“As responsible puja organisers, this year we decided to set a precedent and break the tradition by not immersing the idol in the Gomti. We are making it public and the district administration may seriously construct a pit so that other puja committees may also get motivated to follow the new norm for protecting ecology,” Swami said.
However, other Durga puja organisers have not made up their minds yet. An office-bearer of more than a century-old Bengali Club on Shivaji Marg said, “We too are not against the district administration. But the local authorities will have to assure us as about the arrangements they have made for immersion. There can’t be one or two pits. We need many more, otherwise immersion will continue the entire night.”
Sudip Sanyal, general secretary of La Touche Road Puja samiti said, “Immersion is becoming a major issue. District adminsitration says they will dig pit here and there. But we don’t see if there is any arrangement. We are at a loss.”
DM Kaushal Raj Sharma said, “Idols will only be immersed in pits established by the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC). This has been done to keep the pollution level of Gomti to a bare minimum,” said while issuing guidelines for idol immersion. The pits will be dug up after Puja samitis review the sites on the river bank. “The samitis can contact nodal officers and review the site at the earliest so that the agencies start digging up pits of suitable size,” he added.