Republic Aeon

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has urged citizens to commemorate the upcoming Ganesh Festival in an environmentally friendly manner and to avoid purchasing government-banned Plaster of Paris (POP) idols. In addition, the municipal authorities are emphasizing on making the festival sustainable by constructing more artificial tanks and ponds for idol immersion than they did the previous year. The civic body, in an initiative last year, had collected more than 2.5 lakh Ganesh idols for immersion during the festival. Now, the PMC's Solid Waste Management department has issued directives in this regard, stating, "Since we received a positive response from citizens regarding the immersion of eco-friendly Ganesh idols last year, we will build additional facilities such as artificial tanks at Visarjan Ghats." Asha Raut, head of the PMC Solid Waste Department, responded to the news by saying, "As in previous years, the PMC will focus on idol and nirmalya collection near the Visarjan ghats. To do so, we will construct more tanks than we did the previous year. The collected nirmalya will be converted into manure and distributed to farmers." This year, regional ward offices throughout the city will install a total of 568 steel tanks, compared to the 359 steel tanks constructed by the municipal body in 2018. During the annual festival, the PMC will construct 252 additional Ganesh Idol donation centers compared to the previous year. Additionally, the number of Nirmalya containers has been increased from 206 to 256, and authorities intend to construct 42 artificial water reservoirs near 22 distinct ghats. According to sources within the PMC, the civic body had implemented mobile water tanks for immersion during the Covid-19 outbreak; nevertheless, the PMC may decide not to continue operating the facility. "The severe Covid-19 criteria required the use of mobile water tanks as a makeshift method to facilitate compliance. On the other hand, it's possible that we won't keep using the facilities this year," the official added while requesting their anonymity. ALSO READ: 10 Best Types of Meditation For Life Aside from that, the municipal government will deploy CCTV cameras close to all of the ghats and the Peth regions during the festival as part of extensive safety preparations that will be carried out in collaboration with the city police. Along with the PMC, the Fire Department will be involved in the arrangement-making process to ensure the best possible coordination.

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