BENGALURU: Over 14,000 Ganesha idols made of plaster of Paris (PoP) were reportedly immersed in various mobile tanks and lakes across the city on Thursday, despite a ban on them. Among the eight administrative zones, at least 85 per cent of the PoP idols were immersed in the South zone alone - 6,027 in mobile tanks and 6,000 in Yediyur lake.
As per figures recorded by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), of the 2,82,388 idols immersed on Thursday, 14,115 of them were made of PoP. Last year, of the 2,08,585 idols immersed on the day of the festival (August 25), 12,077 were made of PoP. However, the percentage of PoP idols immersed on day one has marginally reduced from 5.79 per cent to 5.0 per cent.
Rajarajeshwari Nagar zone fared the best among all zones, as, of the 8,756 idols immersed, not a single one was reportedly made of of PoP. Joint Commissioner of RR Nagar N C Jagdish said this was achieved by systematic enforcement at all the 14 wards in the zone.
Among the idols released in lakes designated for immersion by the BBMP, Yediyur lake, again in the South, had a large share of the PoP immersions — around 6,000. A total of 536 and 325 PoP idols were immersed in Halsur lake and Sankey Tank respectively. Apart from the idols, a total of 216.7 tons of wet waste was also generated on Thursday, with most of them generated in the three zones of West, East and South.
Dry day in some areas of north Bengaluru
Liquor has been banned to avoid any untoward incidents during the procession towards Ulsoor Lake for immersion of Ganesha idols. Sale of liquor has been banned in JC Nagar, RT Nagar, Hebbal, Sanjay Nagar, KG Halli, DG Halli, Pulakeshi Nagar and Bharathi Nagar. All liquor shops will be closed from 6 am on Saturday till 6 am on Sunday.