HC refuses to relax order banning immersion of idols in Ganga, Yamuna

The effort by the district administration and local residents to secure permission for immersing Durga idols in Ganga and Yamuna failed today with the Allahabad High Court making it clear that it saw "no justification to recall or relax its order" prohibiting "visarjan" in either river.

A Division Bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and Arun Tandon, however, directed the Principal Secretary (Home) and Director General of Police of Uttar Pradesh to ensure that the customary immersion was undertaken "safely and conveniently" at an alternative place.

"It is the duty of the administration to provide alternative suitable place, including ponds and other facilities for safe and convenient immersion of idols," the court said and directed "necessary details for immersion of all the idols be published in local newspapers of Allahabad on Sunday, 13,10.2013, so that all pandals/barwaris may come to know the places for immersion of idols and convenience regarding traffic/parking".

The judgement was passed on an application filed by the administration along with the city's Bengali Welfare Association whereby permission had been sought "to perform the immersion of idols of Goddess Durga till there is no proper alternative arrangement".
Significantly, on October 07 last, the court had turned down a request by the administration to relax its order dated October 9, 2012 whereby immersion of idols in the two rivers had been banned from the year 2013.

Miffed over the situation, the Bengali Welfare Association had threatened to bring all the idols to the Collectorate on Vijaya Dashmi.

Meanwhile, the Association and the administration are understood to have reached an agreement wherein idols would be immersed in a flood island in the Phaphamau locality on the outskirts of the city.