HC Bans PoP Ganesh Idol Immersion In Hussain Sagar

On the eve of the Vinayaka Chavithi festival on September 10, the High Court today gave instructions to the government to impose more curbs on the public movement to check the coronavirus spread.

The court also ruled that Ganesh idols made of Plaster of Paris could not to be immersed in the Hussain Sagar. They must be immersed in special tanks, and the officials should take the necessary steps for this, the court said.

Officials should also take measures to ensure that Ganesh idols were immersed along P V Marg, Necklace Road and Sanjivaiah Park, too, and conduct immersion in specially made rubber dams as all the idols could not be dropped into the Hussain Sagar lake, the court added.

And after the immersion the related waste should be removed quickly from the lake and the temporary ponds, the HC said.

Steps should also be taken to avoid pandals on the roads causing traffic problems, and coronavirus protocols should be followed in granting permissions to pandals, the court added. It also instructed that officials curb sound pollution after 10 pm by stopping cultural activities as part of the Ganesh festival.

It asked the government, the GHMC and the police department to implement the orders strictly.

Earlier, the court had reserved its judgement on a petition by an M Venumadhav to prevent idol immersion in the Tank Bund to check pollution. It had also slammed the state government for failing to take steps to avoid mass gatherings during the festival.