The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation has created 170 artificial immersion ponds for this year’s Ganesh festival to reduce pollution in natural water bodies and provide residents with immersion facilities closer to their homes. The civic body said idols up to six feet in height are expected to be immersed in artificial ponds in line with court directions, while larger idols have also been encouraged to use the facilities wherever possible.
The municipal corporation said the number of artificial ponds has been increased from last year to make immersion more accessible across Navi Mumbai. The additional facilities are intended to reduce the pressure on traditional immersion sites, which typically experience heavy crowds during the festival period.
According to the civic body, the artificial ponds are also intended to limit the pollution of natural water sources caused by immersion activities. The sites have been identified by the corporation’s ward-level administrative zones and engineering department. Construction and preparation work at the locations is in its final stage, the corporation said.
The arrangement is designed to distribute crowds across multiple locations rather than concentrate them at conventional immersion points. Residents will be able to use facilities located closer to their neighbourhoods, although the civic body has not disclosed the individual locations or operating schedules of all 170 ponds in the information released.
The municipal corporation has also said that Ganesh festival organisations will not be charged a fee for erecting pandals. To simplify permissions for pandal construction, the civic body has made an online, single-window e-service available for applications.
Navi Mumbai Mayor Sujata Patil and Municipal Commissioner Dr Kailas Shinde have appealed to residents and festival organisations to use Shadu clay and other environment-friendly idols. They have also urged citizens to give priority to artificial ponds for immersion as part of an effort to protect the environment while maintaining festival arrangements.
The artificial ponds are being prepared ahead of the festival, with the civic administration’s stated priorities being the completion of the sites, the dispersal of crowds and the reduction of pollution at natural immersion locations.
