BMC advises home immersion of Ganesh idols, processions banned

As Mumbai braces for the first day of immersion of Ganesh idols on Sunday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has advised citizens celebrating in home to carry out immersion at their homes in buckets or drums.

The BMC has also banned processions for immersion and has given the option to conduct immersion at 70 natural and 170 artificial spots in the city by following social distancing and hygiene norms. Every year on the first day, over 35,000 idols are immersed in the city. In 2019, over 46,000 idols were immersed on the first day.

The BMC has uploaded a list of natural and artificial ponds on its website http://stopcoronavirus.mcgm.gov.in/ganesh-visarjan-locations.

In case of 70 natural immersion spots that also includes sea, only those citizens or devotees residing within 2 km radius of these spots are allowed to immerse their idols there by handing them over to the BMC. The citizens or devotees shall not be allowed to enter the sea water or water of natural spots to immerse the idols themselves under any circumstances, the BMC said in an advisory.

“Devotees who are celebrating Ganesh festival in their homes are advised to carry out idol immersion of the Ganesh idols at their homes in a bucket or a drum as their first preference,” the advisory also said.

The BMC has also asked mandals and those celebrating from home and residing in containment zones or sealed buildings to either defer immersion for next year or make arrangements on their own using buckets or drums.

The advisory issued by BMC in this context reads, “The Ganeshotsav Mandals as well as citizens situated in Containment Zones shall immerse their Ganesh idols by creating necessary arrangements in the mandap /pandal and their homes itself . Alternatively they can defer the immersion of the idols to the next year. Devotees who are staying in sealed buildings shall mandatorily immerse their Ganesh idols in their homes itself (in bucket/ small drums) or postpone the immersion to the next year.”

Further, the BMC has said that devotees shall perform pooja and aarti in their homes itself and then hand over the idols to the BMC because these will not be permitted at the immersion spots. Those taking part in immersion will have to use masks, sanitizers and follow necessary social distancing, added the BMC.

Meanwhile, as a special arrangement, BMC this year has created the mobile immersion spots on wheels by making necessary arrangements by fitting suitable water tanks in trucks. Devotees are also requested to take advantage of these mobile immersion spots after taking information from the official website of BMC.