78 immersion ponds used for Ganpati visarjan in Indore

As is tradition, Abhishek and Aanchal Sharma, siblings residing in Annapurna area, headed out for Ganpati Visarjan earlier this week. But in a break from tradition, instead of heading to the lakes, they went to the immersion pond installed in their locality by the Indore Municipal Corporation. More than 70 such artificial immersion ponds were installed around the city this year, in a bid to preserve the city's water bodies.The mixing of chemical colours and POP from idols, a major cause of pollution in water bodies every year, was reduced thanks to this move. But now that the festivities have ended, what happens to the residue and water in these artificial immersion ponds?

According to Balram Verma, in-charge of IMCs water works department, a plan of action is already in place. “The mud residue which will be deposited in the tank after the immersion would be spread in gardens across the city,” informs Balram, adding, “We are expecting to collect more than 25 trucks of soil after the immersion. We also allowed POP idols to be immersed in the same ponds, the deposit of which would be used to fill ditches that are currently filled with rain water at Jawahar Tekri and Gadha Tekri."
But sadly, not much can be done with the leftover water, that officials tell us, has been sourced from 11 holy rivers, including Narmada, Purna and Godavari. "We thought of treating the water from the ponds, but it involves a lot of expenses, so we will empty the water from the tanks on grounds near their respective locations. Each tank has over 1,000-1,500 litres of water which can easily be soaked by the ground.” Locations like Rajwada, Annapurna, Krishnapura Chhatri, Ranjeet Hanuman Square, Sirpur and Bilawali lakes, saw hundreds of devotees on the day of immersion. Rajendra Garotia, an officla with IMC shares, “Devotees who went to these places for immersion, were guided not to immerse garlands, prasad, clothes and other ornaments in the artificial tanks.”
Paryavaran Hiteshi Kund
“The artificial ponds were called Paryavaran Hiteshi Kund and had water from 11 holy rivers, including Narmada, Purna and Godavari. The tanks were of two sizes - 3*8 and 4*10 sq ft. The smaller tanks were installed around the city and the bigger ones were placed near water bodies, so that people who went to the lakes and rivers could immerse idols in the tanks instead of polluting the water bodies,” - Balram Verma

Locals do their bit
With increasing awareness on keeping the celebration eco-friendly, many locals took up shadu idols, tree ganeshas and making idols at home and chose the Paryavaran Hiteshi Kund for immersion. Tarushika Bundela, a working professional who immersed her Ganpati idol near Vijay Nagar shares, “Previously we used to go to Sirpur or Bilawali Lake for immersion. This initiative has also eased the traffic problem near the lakes and rivers as visarjan has been made possible in multiple localities.”
Photo Credits: Arpit Joshi