You Can Now Be Fined ₹50,000 For Idol Immersion In Ganga, Says Central Govt

Durga Puja is here and celebrations are in full swing! The streets are lit with beautiful lights with a pandal at every block with the idols standing in all their glory. It’s a happy time for everyone. But not so much for the environment.

On the last day of Durga Puja, Dashami, thousands of idols are immersed in the river Ganga and the pollution therefore caused is hard to conceive until one sees it with their own eyes. Thankfully the has now taken a necessary step to curb water pollution during the puja season.

According to a report by The Indian Express, the Central Government has issued a 15-point directive according to which idol immersion in the Ganges or any of its tributaries is prohibited. They have restricted access to the ghats by barricading it with police officials. Violators of the directive will be imposed with a fine of Rs. 50,000.

The directive was issued by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) to chief secretaries of 11 states which includes Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Rajasthan, reported News18.

Issued under Section 5 of The Environment (Protection) Act, the directive states that arrangements should be made for “designated idol-immersion sites”. They have asked for the construction of “temporary confined ponds with removable synthetic liners at the bottom”.

State governments have been ordered to ensure that “there is no use of synthetic material/ non-biodegradable material, plaster of paris (POP), baked clay, resin fibres, and thermocol for making of idols.”

Also, the use of toxic and non-biodegradable chemical dyes and synthetic paints are strictly prohibited.

Violators of any of the above rules will be imposed with Rs. 50,000 fine.

With the kind of climatic crisis the world is going through, this step taken by the government was long overdue. We hope this curbs water pollution to a significant extent.