Mumbai’s civic administration has retrieved and transported 2,754.9 tonnes of idols and related material immersed during the Ganesh festival, with the largest ward-level quantity recorded in K-West, covering Andheri, Juhu and Versova. The operation is aimed at preventing plaster of Paris and other material from remaining in artificial immersion ponds or entering natural water bodies.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation carried out the retrieval between September 16 and Sunday, according to the civic body. The highest single-day quantity was recorded on Saturday, when 510.9 tonnes were transported in 131 vehicle trips.
K-West ward accounted for 314.8 tonnes, the highest among the city’s wards. It was followed by S ward, which includes Powai lake, at 253.6 tonnes, and D ward, covering Girgaum beach, at 249.4 tonnes.
BMC deputy municipal commissioner for solid waste management Kiran Dighavkar said timely retrieval was necessary because plaster of Paris does not naturally dissolve after immersion. If it is left in artificial immersion ponds or reaches natural water bodies, the material can affect water quality, restrict the reuse of immersion facilities and accumulate along beaches and other water bodies.
The collected material has been transported to a retrieval site in Mulund that was prepared specifically for the operation. Dighavkar said each vehicle’s load was recorded at weigh bridges, while ward-wise records, photographs and daily progress reports were maintained.
The civic body is now examining scientific recycling and reuse options for the consolidated material. It has invited expressions of interest to identify technologies that are suitable and environmentally compliant for processing the retrieved waste.
The operation was conducted under a citywide standard operating procedure covering retrieval, transportation, documentation and temporary storage. Ward-level teams were deployed, and clean, covered vehicles were used to move the material. BMC said the exercise was carried out while considering religious sentiments alongside its legal and environmental responsibilities.
The civic administration also linked the exercise to directions from the Bombay High Court and recommendations made by an expert committee of the Central Pollution Control Board. Those directions and recommendations form part of the regulatory framework governing idol immersion and the handling of material left after the festival.
However, the implementation of immersion rules remains contested. Environmental activist Rohit Joshi, who had filed a public interest litigation in the Bombay High Court seeking enforcement of the ban on plaster of Paris idols, alleged that idols below six feet had also been immersed in natural water bodies in violation of the court’s instructions. He said photographs would be submitted to the court.
BMC’s next step is to assess recycling and reuse technologies for the material stored at Mulund while continuing to maintain ward-level records of the retrieval operation.
