A day after the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) reported immersion of Ganesha idols made of Plaster of Paris (PoP), it has chosen to drop the same and plainly report immersion of idols without bifurcating data on earthen and PoP idols. The State government has banned PoP idols.
According to data shared by BBMP on Tuesday, 10,357 PoP idols were immersed in lakes, artificial immersion tanks, and mobile tanks across the city on September 18. This was despite the Karnataka government on September 15 issuing a stringent order banning manufacturing, sale, and immersion of PoP idols. The government in the order invoked Section 15(1) of Environment (Protection) Act under which five-year jail term and ₹1 lakh penalty is stipulated.
The data also corroborates that the BBMP, which also had issued guidelines banning PoP idols, is allowing the immersion in the city’s water bodies violating the Government Order. After it reported about immersion of over 10,000 PoP idols, specific instructions were reportedly given to those recording idols not to tabulate the data of PoP idols separately, sources said.
“Fearing action from the State government, the civic body has stopped tabulating data of PoP idols immersed separately. When Forest and Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre had issued the order banning PoP idols across the State, the city’s civic body cannot allow its immersion. After the data of immersion of PoP idols was reported in the media on Tuesday, instructions were given not to tabulate or make public the data of PoP idols immersed separately,” a senior civic official involved with the process of idol immersion in the city told The Hindu.
In the data the civic body shared on Wednesday, it only said 28,347 Ganesha idols were immersed in the city on Tuesday, but did not specify how many of them were PoP idols. However, chief civic commissioner Tushar Giri Nath said he was unaware of the entire development.
