Amitabh Shukla
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“There is hardly any time to inform the organisers of the puja nor do we have enough enforcement mechanism to enforce the guidelines,” admitted a senior official. He said that the idols are immersed in the 22-km stretch of the river Yamuna in several parts of the city and it was difficult to police the entire river bank.
What the government intends to do is to ask the civic bodies to collect and dispose the leftover material within 24 hours of the idol immersion.
In its guidelines, the CPCB said that the immersion of idols without proper care leads to silting and the toxic chemicals used in making idols tend to pose serious problems of water pollution. It also asked the formation of a coordination committee comprising police, NGOs and representatives of groups to guide the public in carrying out immersion with minimum adverse impact on water bodies.
The CPCB has also said that prior to immersion, worship and decorative material made of paper and plastic should be removed. The Board also asked for water quality assessments in three stages – pre immersion, during immersion and post immersion to determine the water quality of the Yamuna.
When contacted, Environment and Forests Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan confirmed that the department had received the guidelines. He did not elaborate on its enforcement.
The Minister said that he has directed the officials to come out with a proposal for the creation of a big pond on the banks of Yamuna. “This pond could be used for idol immersion and other religious functions. The pond could later be cleaned by the civic agencies,” he said. Chauhan said that immersing the idols in the pond and then cleaning it was practical and the government would put in place a system soon. (2005)
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