Durga Puja: For the first time in its 190-year history, Kolkata Puja immerses idol in 'artificial tank'

A 190-year-old puja in Kolkata immersed its idol in an “artificial tank” on Vijayadashmi, in a bid to curb pollution. Residents of south Kolkata, the "Bonedi Baris" have a tradition of disposing the Durga idols in the Hooghly rive or other water bodies. The runaway paint from these immersions makes the water toxic.
Organisers of a 190-year-old Durga Puja in Kolkata immersed their idol in an artificial tank for the first time | Representative image

Organisers of a 190-year-old Durga Puja in Kolkata immersed their idol in an artificial tank for the first time | Representative image

Photo : iStock
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
  • A resident of Girish Bhawan led the initiative.
  • For several years now, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation is fighting pollution in the Hooghly river.
  • All efforts to encourage or enforce an eco-friendly immersion have failed.
In a trend-setting first, a 190-year-old puja in Kolkata immersed its idol in an “artificial tank” on Vijayadashmi, doing away with the tradition of taking the Durga idol to Hooghly river or other water bodies in a bid to keep pollution under check. The runaway paint from these immersions makes the water toxic.
The elite residents of south Kolkata, also known as the “Bonedi Baris”, have long been immersing their idols in the Adi Ganga canal, now plagued by pollution.
However, Girish Bhawan-resident Anirban Mukherjee convinced his family to spearhead the initiative of environment-friendly disposals in order to help the Ganga rejuvenation project.
A tank - 4 feet high and 6 feet in diameter - equipped with two jet sprayers, enabled the beginning of a circular system based on the 3R principle.
"Water jets were used for dissolving the idol, and the remnants were stored in sacks as those will be re-used next year for making the idol. We followed the vision of reduce, recycle and reuse," he told PTI.
In 2021, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) created an artificial pond for pollution-free immersion but very few Bonedi Baris or community Durga Puja committees came around to embrace the change.
This followed years of retrievals from Hooghly using cranes deployed to lift the idols within minutes of their immersion.
Last month, residents of Kolhapur, Maharashtra, immersed their Ganesh idols in an innovative, “smooth and safe” way. A mechanical conveyor belt, installed by the Kolhapur municipal corporation for Ganesh Visarjan, bid farewell to idols - small and big.
This new technique is believed to prevent injuries and loss of lives, often exacerbated by heavy rains.
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