Sheetal Talao, one of the important lakes in Sion, will undergo a restoration soon and hence the BMC has appealed to all the Ganeshotsav mandals not to immerse Ganesh idols in the lake. Now, the Ganesh mandals from Chunabhatti and Sion will have to go to Dadar Chowpatty or Mahim Retibunder for immersion.
The 11-day festival begins on Wednesday. There are 73 natural lakes across the city where Ganesh idols are immersed on the second, fifth, seventh, and 11th day of the festival. The idols made from plaster of paris do not easily dissolve in the water. To preserve the environment, the civic authority has made arrangements for 162 artificial lakes in the city. Still, several Ganeshotsav mandals prefer to immerse idols in natural lakes.
“We have undertaken a beautification work of Sheetal Talao. After immersion, the colour of the water changes in 3-4 months and the fish also dies. So we will only allow the household Ganesh idols to be immersed in the lake till 10 pm. We have appealed to the mandals to immerse idols at Dadar Chowpatty or Mahim Retibunder,” said Gajanan Bellale, assistant municipal commissioner, F south.
However, this has upset the Ganeshotsav mandals in Sion and Chunabhatti. “How can we make arrangements on a short notice? To take idols for immersion at Dadar Chowpatty or another place will increase the cost and cause inconvenience,” said Jay Poojary, a member of Sardar Nagar Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal.
“The BMC should have announced the changes earlier. Had they made the announcement one year in advance, the mandals would have happily accepted it and would have found an alternative,” said Ravi Raja, senior Congress leader and former corporator from Sion.
The BMC has undertaken a pilot project to improve water quality in Sheetal Talao on N.S. Mankikar marg in Sion also known as Sion talao, and Dingeshwar lake at Charkop in Kandivali. The water of these lakes will be cleaned using bioremediation process.
