According to official data from the BMC, last year 43,385 idols were immersed while at the same time this year, 81,570 idols were immersed on the fifth day.
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This year a significant portion of idols found their way into artificial ponds i.e. of the 81,570 idols that were immersed as many as 32,719 were immersed in artificial lakes which had been made by the civic authorities at various locations in Mumbai to avoid crowding at the city beaches.
Immersions in artificial lakes also peaked by 173% (from 11,979 last year to 32,719 this year).
A BMC official said that the increase could be due to several reasons like more citizens bringing the idol home and also many choosing to keep the idol for a period of five days rather than 1.5 days so that family and friends could come for a visit.
Stalin D, director of the NGO Vanashakti, which filed a PIL in the Bombay HC requesting that there be a ban on Ganpati immersions in the lakes of Aarey colony said, “The BMC is the custodian of the water bodies in the city and ideally should do everything possible to preserve it. Aarey being an eco-sensitive zone, we demanded that the BMC provide immersion tanks at the entrance so that the lakes are not polluted.”
He further added, “The BMC has increased the number of artificial immersion sites which is a welcome step, but there is definitely more that can be done.” The BMC this year sizeably increased the number off artificial immersion sites to over 200 from 154 last year.
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