New Delhi: The Delhi government has announced special arrangements for the dignified disposal of damaged idols and religious material, along with eco-friendly Ganesh immersion facilities across the city.
Under the initiative led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, 110 collection centres are being set up at identified locations where people can deposit old or damaged idols and puja material instead of leaving them in public places.
The surveyed collection points-designated as 'Visarjan Patras'-are being made operational across 18 major regional clusters in the city. Devotees and households can donate an array of religious items for processing and scientific recycling.
The acceptable items at these centres include old or damaged framed pictures, murtis (idols), religious calendars, pooja chowkis, wooden and plaster decor, broken diyas, earthen lamps, pooja samagri, dry flowers, garland remains, cotton wicks, paper decorations, natural leaves, and incense sticks.
To cover the entirety of the capital, the collection network has been divided into 18 geographic belts, encompassing Narela-Alipur, Mukundpur-Civil Lines, Rohini, Punjabi Bagh-Rajouri Garden, Dwarka, Vasant Kunj-Mehrauli, Greater Kailash-Lajpat Nagar, Mayur Vihar, Laxmi Nagar, and the Yamuna-side clusters, among others.
Alongside the waste collection centres, the government has also prepared 81 artificial immersion ponds distributed across all 13 districts of Delhi to accommodate Ganesh visarjan.
Arrangements for security, lighting, sanitation, medical assistance, emergency response and traffic management are being made at the immersion sites across all 13 districts.
CM Rekha Gupta appealed to devotees to use only the designated immersion sites and avoid immersing idols in the Yamuna or other water bodies.
She also urged people to opt for eco-friendly idols and avoid Plaster of Paris, harmful chemical colours and materials that could pollute water bodies.
The government said idol remains and other material would be cleared from the immersion sites after the celebrations.
The initiative aims to allow people to follow their religious traditions while keeping public spaces and Delhi's water bodies clean.
Ganesh Chaturthi marks the birth of Lord Ganesha and is celebrated with prayers, idol installations and gatherings across the country. The festival comes to an end with Ganesh Visarjan, when devotees immerse the idol in water.
