HYDERABAD: Pushed to the corner by the refusal of the Telangana High Court to review its order banning the immersion of Ganesh idols made of Plaster of Paris (PoP) in the Hussainsagar, the State government is likely to move the Supreme Court to find a way out of the conundrum. With the immersion of idols having begun already and the possibility of the order triggering a political recoil, the State government wants to plead with the Apex Court to allow it to continue the practice of immersion of all types of idols in the Hussainsagar.
Though the ban order was issued on September 9, devotees have been immersing Ganesh idols in the lake over the last few days without a care in the world. The government agencies, meanwhile, are not lifting a finger to prevent them from polluting the lake as they are wary of ruffling feathers.
As the High Court has dismissed the lunch hour motion petition of the government, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), police and other departments concerned are now waiting for a direction from the State on the future course of action. The GHMC has no immediate action plan on how to ensure immersion of huge idols. Officials believe that if the High Court orders are honoured, then the idol immersion in the 25 baby ponds would take more than a week to complete.
The police department is yet to take a call on the orders of the High Court. “Our job is to ensure that there is no trouble at the time of the immersion of idols. We provide protection wherever required. It is the GHMC that has to take a call on where the idols should be immersed,” a source from the department said. Meanwhile, the Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi (BGUS) general secretary Bhagavanth Rao said, “More than one lakh idols have been installed in the Greater Hyderabad limits and they have to be immersed in water bodies, including the Hussainsagar in the coming days. It is the responsibility of the State government to see to it that there are no hurdles.
If any attempt is made to prevent the devotees from immersing the idols, then it would be tantamout to undermining the citizens’ fundamental right to freedom of practising the religion of their choice. In the wake of the High Court orders, the government should consider bringing an ordinance to overcome the difficulty.”