The lake is full and brimming. The rains in August have been good. The fish catch is picking up and the customers are thronging the stall on the lake bund on a Sunday. Yet the fisherman is anxious. Last year at this time many Ganesha idols were immersed. Luckily most of them were in a kalyani (a step pond) provided for that purpose. Not many were put into the lake directly.
Unfortunately the person manning the pond was not aware of the quality of the waters and what harm it could do. Most of the remaining Plaster of Paris idols and flowers were carted away to a landfill. The remaining waters were pumped into the lake before the fisherman could intervene. Almost all of the fish died. The entire lake waters were polluted.
The loss ran into lakhs of rupees and it took more than six months for the lake waters to recover. The birds which came to the lake disappeared.
This year the fisherman is alert and ready. He will do his best to ensure that no pollution of the lake will occur but he will need the cooperation from many of his fellow citizens. Like at the lake at Rachenahalli, many other lakes will see fishermen filled with anxiety.
It is also impossible for these waters from the immersion ponds to be put into sewage treatment plants since they will also impact the functioning of the STPs themselves. Possibly they will have to be stored and gradually introduced into the process over days so as to dilute their effects.
While a lot of effort is made to persuade people to move towards eco-friendly Ganesha idols, many are still made and coated with paint which has lead in it. These are extremely harmful to all living creatures in water.
While many of our lakes are struggling with foam and sewage, those that have been revived with citizens’ action, face a threat during this season with unregulated idol immersion. We have to nudge ourselves as a society for better ecological practices to ensure the survival of our lakes. That would be water wisdom.