CUTTACK: Idol immersion after Kali puja has left Kathajodi river polluted again. Piles of idol remains and puja materials lay strewn around an artificial pond set up at Devi Gada on Kathajodi river bed as the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) failed to lift the waste on time.
Amid COVID restrictions, Kali Puja was observed in the city and immersion of idols was conducted on Saturday. To decentralise the immersion point in view of COVID-19 pandemic, the CMC had set up 11 temporary ponds on both Mahanadi and Kathajodi river beds for safe and pollution-free immersion of 72 idols of Goddess Kali worshipped across the city.
Devi Gada was one among the 11 immersion points set up in the city. Though three days have already passed, the civic body is yet to lift the immersion waste from the river bed creating an unhygienic surrounding for locals.
"Besides posing a threat to environment, the negligence of the civic body officials in disposing of unattended waste puja materials is also violating the guidelines issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT)," said a city-based environmentalist while raising concern over the issue.
City Health Officer Satyabrata Mohapatra said, “Steps are being taken by the civic body to expedite the garbage cleaning work and efforts are on to clear the waste materials from Devi Gada immersion point by Thursday.”