Hundreds of devotees joined a traditional Durga idol immersion boat procession on the Hansua river in Rajnagar, Kendrapada, on Thursday, while environmentalists raised concerns about pollution from plaster of Paris idols and non-biodegradable decorative materials entering a water system connected to Bhitarkanika National Park.
About 20 Durga idols were carried along a six-kilometre stretch of the river on decorated boats transporting idols, priests, boatmen and devotees. Villagers offered coconuts and garlands at riverside ghats as crowds gathered on both banks, boats and a bridge over the Hansua to watch the procession.
The boat procession is an age-old immersion tradition in Rajnagar, where rivers and creeks historically shaped movement between villages. Priest Narendra Mishra said puja committees had traditionally transported idols by boat because the area lacked bridges. Although roads and bridges now connect the region, villagers have continued the custom.
The ceremony also reflected the safety risks associated with the river system. Devotees had earlier swum out to the boats to worship the idols, but authorities banned the practice about two decades ago because the river contains saltwater crocodiles. Bipin Panda, president of a puja committee, said Hansua is connected to the water bodies of Bhitarkanika National Park, which are home to more than 1,800 crocodiles.
Police and fire brigade personnel made elaborate security arrangements for the procession, according to Ratiranjan Nayak, inspector-in-charge of Rajnagar police station. The arrangements covered a ceremony involving large crowds along the riverbanks and movement by boat, although the supplied report does not detail the number of personnel deployed or any incidents during the event.
Environmentalists criticised authorities for allowing the immersions in the river. Hemant Rout, secretary of the Gahirmatha Marine Turtles and Mangrove Conservation Society, alleged that puja committees dumped idols and non-biodegradable materials, including chemical paints, plastic covers, zari and thermocol, into the Hansua in violation of pollution-control guidelines.
Rout said flowers, clothes and decorative materials should be removed before the idols are immersed. He also said many idols were made of plaster of Paris, which takes longer to dissolve and can reduce oxygen levels in the water. These concerns were raised in the context of a river network connected to the Bhitarkanika landscape, making the disposal of immersion materials an issue beyond the immediate ceremony.
The procession highlights the administrative challenge of managing a long-standing cultural practice in a sensitive water environment. The supplied report does not specify whether officials inspected the idols, monitored the immersion points, removed materials after the ceremony or recorded violations. It also does not state whether any pollution-control authority issued a direction or initiated action.
For now, the documented next steps are the completion of the immersion ceremony under police and fire brigade supervision and the handling of flowers, clothes, decorative items and idol materials in line with the concerns raised by environmentalists. No further official response from pollution-control authorities is identified in the report.
