Bengaluru lakes overflow with Ganesh Chaturthi debris

A common sight after the Ganesha festival at several lakes across Bengaluru is the huge pile of wood waste and the remains of the idols immersed in the respective Kalyanis.

While the idols made of clay dissolve completely, those composed of plaster of Paris (PoP) remain as they are. The agencies that procure the contract from the BBMP remove the waste using JCBs. After a couple of weeks, the muddied water is disposed of through the drainage.  “The wood waste needs to be dried, which takes about a month. Once done, the waste materials, including PoPs, are disposed at a faraway place,” says a home guard working at Halasuru Lake.  The entire process from removing the waste, disposing it and cleaning the lake again is handed over to contractors by the BBMP, she adds.

After the festival, the water is cleaned as idols are immersed during Dasara too. However, the magnitude of immersion will be lesser. Waste that do not dissolve in water are taken in lorries to a quarry site near Rampura for disposal. Waste from different lakes in the vicinity, such as the ones in Vibhutipura, Thanisandra and Hebbal are disposed of at Ramapura itself,” said Shankar (name changed), working for the contractors.

Environmentalist A N Yellappa Reddy voiced his concerns about waste disposal at quarry sites without prior preparation.  “Piling such materials in quarry sites can turn worrisome during rains as water tends to stagnate. Such stagnant water acts as breeding hotspots for mosquitoes, thus inconveniencing people who live in the vicinity of those areas,” he says.

The solution to these is a blanket ban on PoP idols, says Reddy. “Clay idols should be preferred. When dissolved, the microbes in them improve the overall microbiological environment of the lakes,” he adds.

Ganesh idols immersed in the lake. 

A BBMP official in the solid waste management section, said all efforts are being made to dispose of the waste. “There are challenges to making sure the contractors remove the waste, especially the framework of these idols because the numbers are huge. It takes a lot of manpower and resources, both of which are scarce with us,” said the official.