HYDERABAD: With Ganesh Chaturthi beginning next week, city’s lake conservationist are preparing for a critical test of their efforts to protect lakes from idol immersions, particularly those made of Plaster of Paris (PoP).
Despite repeated advisories and immersion ponds created by the GHMC, activists say idols continue to end up in natural lakes, threatening years of cleanup and restoration work.
At Kapra Lake, volunteers admit the festival season is the most challenging period. Manognya Reddy from the Kapra Lake Revival Group, which organises cleanup drives, said, “This lake attracts Ganesh idols from even 10 km away.
What we are suggesting is that they obtain that divide-and-rule policy. Whichever is the closest lake, like Charlapally or Safilguda, should take the load. And not one particular famous lake. If the police and GHMC divert traffic, the number of idols here will automatically reduce.”
The group also advocated for artificial ponds within residential colonies and stricter enforcement. “In AS Rao Nagar, every year a huge artificial pond is created using plastic sheets. It can take several idols. But unless authorities regulate and tell residents to use it nobody listens,” she explained.
At Neknampur Lake, members say past experience shows better alternatives. Madhulika Chaudri, a member of the Neknampur Lake Revival Group, recalled, “For the protection of lakes, in 2019, we, with the help of the authorities, set up a 19-foot immersion pond at the lake’s outlet in 2017. The baby ponds that the government created were good for nothing. Idols remained half-immersed, rotting for days. By making a proper pond at the outlet, whatever polluted water was created flowed out instead of contaminating the lake.”
However, she disagrees with the idea of distributing idol immersions across multiple lakes. “If you talk to me as an environmentalist, I will suggest all the idols should go to two or three designated lakes, not every lake. If pollution is happening, let it happen only in those areas, and save the rest. The government has shortcomings — it cannot manage too many sites. If they focus on a few, it is more manageable,” she stressed.
Chaudri further added that the real solution lies at the idol making stage. “We cannot wake up ten days before the festival and say POP is banned. Alternatives should start at the manufacturing stage. Otherwise, every year we clean, and every year it gets polluted again,” she said.