HYDERABAD: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has begun setting up portable prefabricated Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) water ponds in Hyderabad.
With the Supreme Court restraining the State government from immersing idols of Lord Ganesh made of Plaster of Paris (PoP) in Hussainsagar and other waterbodies from this year, works for two FRP ponds have begun at NTR Stadium in Indira Park and Ameerpet playground. Officials said 24 such ponds will be set up by the end of the week.
The workers setting up the pond at NTR Stadium said the works are on the verge of completion and will be ready for use by this week. Similarly, at the Ameerpet playground, works for the 20 by 10-metre pond with a depth of about 1.50 metres are under progress.
The land has been excavated for the building of a ‘basement’ with concrete, upon which the pond will be set up. Idols up to four feet in height can be immersed at this location. Officials said the puja material and idol remains will be disposed of at another location identified by the civic body.
After the idol immersion is over, the ponds would be detached from the ground and parts will be dismantled so that they can be reused for the Bathukamma festival (Dasara). The initiative would ensure that devotees don’t have to travel long distances for immersion, and avoid crowding during the festive period in the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, officials said.
The civic body urged citizens to immerse idols of Lord Ganesh at the FRP ponds for the protection of the environment. GHMC has made it mandatory for citizens and organisers to immerse PoP idols only in portable and artificial ponds.
MANDATE BY SUPREME COURT
The Supreme Court had barred the State government from allowing the immersion of idols made of Plaster of Paris (PoP) at the Hussainsagar and other water bodies. To address this, the authorities are setting up portable prefabricated Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) water ponds in Hyderabad