CHENNAI: In violation of pollution control norms and court directives, over 1,100 Vinayagar idols - many made of plaster of Paris (PoP) and coated with chemical paints – were immersed from the Pattinapakkam coast on Sunday. The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and police deployed two cranes to lift massive idols into the water, while an earthmover was pressed into service to smash larger idols before dumping the fragments back into the water. Traditionally, fishing boats were used to ferry idols beyond the breakers, but choppy seas forced boats to stay ashore.
Strong waves pushed many idols back to shore, while fragments and paint peels were strewn across the swash zone.
“All the guidelines have been broken,” said K Saravanan, a fisherman leader and member of the district Coastal Zone Management Authority (CZMA). “PoP idols are banned, chemical paints are banned, debris flattening is banned, but everything happened in full view.”
The 2018 Public (Law and Order) Department Government Order lays down clear rules. Idols must be made only of pure clay, painted with water-soluble natural dyes, restricted to 10ft in height, and immersed in barricaded zones lined with synthetic sheets so that residues can be retrieved within 48 hours.
The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) is mandated to conduct water quality checks before, during, and after immersion, monitoring pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and heavy metals like lead, cadmium, zinc and copper.
Yet, year after year, these safeguards are flouted. Multiple studies have shown that PoP idols release gypsum and toxic heavy metals, increasing turbidity and depleting oxygen levels in water bodies. The metals bioaccumulate in fish, eventually entering the human food chain. “When idols are broken with earthmovers and dumped in the surf, the fragments spread widely and
cannot be retrieved. They smother benthic organisms and release toxins slowly over months,” said a marine biologist from the University of Madras.
Meanwhile, the National Green Tribunal has asked the GCC to file a compliance report by September 2 after noting only partial removal of debris against an August 29 deadline.