HYDERABAD: With the Telangana High Court banning immersion of PoP Ganesha idols in Hussainsagar and other water bodies in the city, the State government is in a fix as most idols installed are made of PoP. Now, it has become a major challenge for the State government to find a place to immerse the 40-feet Ganesha idol installed at Khairatabad. The State government, the departments concerned and the Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi (BGUS) have to sit together and decide on how to proceed as nearly 75,000 PoP idols of varying sizes will be installed in Greater Hyderabad limits.
The police department has started preparations to ensure that the High Court’s directions are strictly implemented. A series of meetings were held by senior officials till late on Thursday, to work on implementing the order in a hassle-free manner. The ten-day festivities will begin tomorrow and immersion will take place on September 19.
When informed about the court’s orders, Khairatabad Ganesh Utsav Committee vice chairman Sandeep Raj said the State Government should show them a suitable place for immersion. “Till then, we will keep the idol at the existing site,” he said.BGUS general secretary Bhagwanth Rao said the committee will comment only after studying the High Court order.
A few other pandal organisers are in a fix. They said when they had obtained permission from the police for installation of the idol, they had also obtained permission to immerse it in Hussainsagar, like during previous years. Nearly 75,000 Ganesha idols of heights ranging from three feet to over 10 feet will be immersed at over 30 water bodies across the twin cities and the outskirts. GHMC officials told Express that they will abide by the court orders and see to it that PoP idols will only be immersed in baby ponds.