BMC withdraws notice banning Ganesh idols made of PoP in Mumbai
PremiumThe Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) allowed the immersion of Plaster of Paris (PoP) idols in artificial ponds
Retracting its notice banning Plaster of Paris (PoP) idols, Mumbai civic body the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday gave permission for PoP made idols to be immersed in artificial lakes during the forthcoming Ganesh festival this year.
The BMC made it mandatory for citizens and organisers of various pandals to immerse such idols only in artificial lakes during the Ganesh festival.
However, it also announced that there will be a complete ban on the PoP idols in the BMC’s jurisdiction during the Ganesh festival in 2023.
Last month, the civic body had announced a complete ban on the PoP idols in the city ahead of the Ganesh festival.
But, the civic body retracted its earlier decision after a meeting on Monday with the Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samiti, an umbrella body of various Ganesh mandals.
For this year’s Ganeshotsav, which will take place after two years of COVID-19 restrictions, as ‘a special case’, permission has been given to buy and sell the PoP idols of Lord Ganesha, said the BMC in its statement, adding that there will be a ‘complete ban’ on it from next year.
Stating that it will be mandatory to immerse the domestic Ganesh idols made of PoP in an artificial lake, the BMC made it mandatory to mention ‘Plaster of Paris’ on these idols so that they can be identified during immersion.
The BMC statement issued by zone-2 deputy commissioner Harshad Kale clearly mentioned that there will be a complete ban on PoP idols in the BMC’s jurisdiction from the 2023 Ganesh festival, adding that It will make it mandatory to buy and sell idols made only from environment-friendly material, like ‘shadu clay’, from next year.
Directing that the height of domestic idols should not be more than two feet, the BMC appealed to the people to keep the height of idols for public pandals should as low as possible during this year’s Ganesh festival.
The civic body added that it will issue permissions online for erecting the Ganpati pandals, through a single window system.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) will operate a large number of special buses — around 2,500 — amid an increasing demand by several Mumbaikars who plan to visit their hometowns in Konkan during the Ganesh festival.
The onward journey for the Ganeshotsa will be from August 25 to August 31, while the return journeys from Konkan will be from September 5 to 19. The buses will run from city depots to Kankavli, Malvan, Devgad, Vengurla, among other destinations.
According to the official data, more than one lakh commuters are likely to travel by special MSRTC buses to the Konkan region this year durng the festival.