Mumbai, Sep 18 (PTI) The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has set up 383 artificial ponds at 278 locations in the city for eco-friendly immersion of idols during the ongoing Ganesh festival, it said on Friday.
The civic body has also deployed 25,000 personnel for looking after immersion arrangements in the city.
The 12-day Ganesh festival began on September 14 and will conclude on September 25. Immersion of most community Ganapati idols will take place on the last day, though immersion of household idols started from the second day of the festival.
In a release issued on Friday, the BMC said that it has made necessary arrangements at 67 natural immersion sites, including 44 beaches and jetties and 23 natural lakes, for idols more than six
feet in height.
As many as 1,194 steel plates have been laid on sand on seashores. Twenty-three German rafts, 34 cranes, 85 ambulances and 10 motorboats have been kept ready at Chowpatties or beaches.
The civic body has deployed 1,132 lifeguards, besides setting up 498 nirmalya kalash and 326 nirmalya dumpers for the collection of puja material waste. There are 228 control rooms and 75 observation towers to keep a watch on crowds.
As per the Bombay High Court’s August 20, 2026 directions, idols up to six feet in height are required to be immersed in artificial ponds, the civic body said.
The BMC has urged citizens to use artificial ponds so as to avoid pollution of natural water bodies.
According to the release, at Swarajyabhoomi (Girgaon Chowpatty), one of the major immersion locations, the civic body has arranged 12 artificial ponds, 20 observation towers, 22 rafts, 90 toilets, three ambulances and around 1,000 personnel.
Preparations have also been completed along immersion routes, with obstructing cables removed at 281 locations, 4,279 potholes on 506 roads and 171 drainage covers repaired, and tree pruning carried out at 515 locations, the release said.
The civic body has also advised citizens to follow instructions issued by the civic and police authorities while entering the sea for immersion, particularly in view of the presence of blue-button jellyfish and stingrays along Mumbai’s coastline.
The civic disaster management department has trained at least eight to 10 volunteers from each public Ganesh mandal in first response and emergency management, including handling crowds, electrical accidents, fires and medical emergencies, besides first aid and CPR, the release said.
As per the release, the BMC has also launched the ‘One Ganapati, One Tree’ initiative, under which it plans to plant as many trees as the number of Ganesh idols immersed in Mumbai.
As part of its environmental measures, the civic body has distributed more than 940 metric tonnes of shadu clay free of cost to idol makers and provided 25,400 litres of eco-friendly colours this year, the release said. PTI KK KRK
