Ulsoor Lake in Bengaluru will receive more than one lakh Ganesha idols during this year’s Gowri-Ganesha festival, but the Bengaluru Central City Corporation (BCCC) has restricted immersions to a dedicated kalyani and specified dates to protect the recently rejuvenated waterbody.
The immersion facility, located within the lake premises, is about 5.5 metres deep and spread across nearly 650 square feet. Civic officials expect a large inflow of idols over the 15-day festival period and have said additional precautions are being taken to prevent idol material and festival waste from entering the lake.
“Extra precautions have been taken to ensure the lake does not get polluted and all Ganesh idols are immersed only in the kalyani. We have arranged mobile tanks at four sides of the lake so that smaller idols can be immersed there itself,” a BCCC lake engineer said.
Immersion at the Ulsoor Lake kalyani will be allowed only on September 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27 and 28. The facility will remain closed on the intervening days to allow officials to clean the kalyani, remove idol remnants and festival waste, and maintain the lake surroundings.
The corporation has said that only eco-friendly idols will be permitted. Officials warned that plaster-of-Paris idols found on sale would be seized and that legal action would be initiated against violators. Smaller idols will have a separate queue, while mobile tanks placed around the lake will provide additional immersion points.
Two cranes have been deployed for round-the-clock operations at the main immersion site. Footpaths around the lake have been barricaded, access routes will be regulated, and solid waste management teams and autos will collect festival waste. The civic arrangements also include CCTV cameras, improved lighting, ambulance services, drinking water and mobile toilets.
Traffic and law-and-order arrangements are being coordinated with the police and other departments. A single-window committee comprising officials from the corporation, police, Bescom, fire and emergency services and other agencies has been formed to grant permissions for Ganesha installations and oversee festival-related arrangements.
The scheduled closures between immersion days are intended to give civic teams time to remove remnants and waste before the next permitted session. The BCCC’s stated operational plan is to keep idol immersion within the designated kalyani while limiting the environmental burden on Ulsoor Lake during the festival.
