The Telangana High Court on Thursday directed the state government not to allow immersion of Ganesha idols made of Plaster of Paris (PoP) in Hussain Sagar Lake and other lakes here. A bench of Acting Chief Justice M S Ramachandra Rao and Justice T Vinod Kumar after hearing a Contempt Petition, directed the government to permit immersion of PoP Ganesh idols in baby ponds already built by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) or in separate ponds which does not result in water pollution in the main water body.
The government can explore the use of inflatable rubber dam wall used while carrying out dredging operations in the Hussain Sagar lake earlier by encircling the area for immersion of idols as an alternative, the High Court said while issuing a slew of directions and closed the contempt case.
“Immersion can be permitted of non-PoP idols which do not have synthetic paint only through the other side of the Hussain Sagar lake for example, PV Ghat, Secretariat road, Sanjeevaiah Park road etc,” the bench said.
The Court further said use of small and eco-friendly idols should be encouraged to avoid impact on the environment and also to carry out rituals in simple and easy manner without gathering of large crowds. It said License/Permits may be limited to fixed number of Pandals in their respective areas by the Local / Urban Bodies.
“Simple and quiet celebrations should be encouraged instead of cultural or entertainment programmes with large congregations during festival period,” it said.
The Hyderabad civic body shall make available masks free of cost in adequate number on the last day of immersion of Ganesh idols in the Hussain Sagar lake, the Court said.
The Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad shall also instruct all Station House Officers and Divisional Police Officers to ensure large congregations do not take place at places where festivities are being celebrated and should fix the maximum number of people who can congregate at a particular time within a Pandal.
Use of loudspeakers should not be permitted after 10 pm at the Ganesh Pandals, it said adding the Pandals should not be set up on the roads obstructing smooth flow of traffic.
The contempt petition had alleged that earlier directions were violated and officials of the state government, who have a statutory duty to maintain the standard and purity of the Hussain Sagar lake, had failed or neglected to perform their duty, and that the bund of the lake is weakening on account of the immersion of idols and other materials such as PoP and sought protection of the lake from water pollution.
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