Idol immersion polluting water bodies in region

Vikram Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 8

The interstate migrants in Jammu use different ways to perform their religious ceremonies, most of which involve idol immersion in water. Though the government has come up with certain specifications on eco-friendly idol immersions, these are not being followed which is leading to contamination of water bodies.

Over the past few years, Jammu has witnessedgreat influx of interstate migrants, particularly daily earners who are living in small clusters in the peripheries of Jammu city and undertaking various construction works and allied jobs.

“Jammu is a religious place and our community from Bihar is also religious. We conduct traditional practices regularly which include idol immersion of various Gods. The Tawi is the nearby source for that,” said Chhat Ram, a labourer from Bihar.

He said like his community, other communities from Odisha, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh also follow the same pattern, though their ways of obeisance differ.

“Paper pulp, thermocol and mud is used in idol making and various colours are also used which are available in market,” said Sheethla, a woman labourer from Odisha.

Neither Chhat Ram or Sheethla could answeras to whether they knew about Pollution Control Board’s specifications regarding eco-friendly idol immersion in rivers and water bodies.

The irony is that even the department people never reached these cluster communities to educate them about the materials and colours to be used in idol making which do not pollute water.

“The department remains short of manpower. Many projects and awareness campaigns remain unexecuted. We can only release awareness advertisements as we are unable to form teams to reach out to people to educate them in this regard,” said Bader Hussian, Divisional Officer, State Pollution Control Department, Jammu.

Not only migrants, the local people of Jammu who practice idol immersion in the Tawi, Ranbir Canal, Chenab and other water bodies, are also not aware of such specifications.

Eco-friendly immersion

• Use clay for idol making
• Use natural colours for decoration
• Don’t use thermocol or plastic. Use cloth, paper, wood and other organic material
• Buy religious idols made of biodegradable material
• Use artificial tanks for immersion of idols and thereafter, release the water in a safe area and not in a water body