Ganesh Utsav: In containment zones, idols must be immersed within restricted area, says BMC

New Delhi: The Ganeshotsav Mandals and people in containment zones will have to immerse idols in a metallic tank inside the containment zone on the occasion of Ganeshotsav and Ganpati Visarjan, said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Similarly, people who are living in buildings which are sealed will have to immerse the idols at home or inside the building, said BMC on Friday.

“People/Ganeshotsav Mandals in containment zones will have to immerse idols in a metallic tank or something else inside containment zone itself. Also, people living in buildings which are sealed must immerse idols at their homes,” said the BMC in an order.

Ganeshotsav Mandals in containment zones cannot take out the idols for immersion as they did earlier.

Earlier, there were no specific guidelines for the immersions of idols in containment zones or sealed buildings. The rest of the guidelines remain the same for containment zones and sealed buildings.

Maha govt’s guidelines for Ganesh Pandals

Few days before, Uddhav Thackeray govt had issued SOPs for Ganesh Utsav in Mumbai. The guidelines restricted the Ganesh idol height to 4 feet and also prohibited assembling of more people near the pandal.

• Ganpati idol in community pandals must be limited to 4 feet, while ganpati idols at home must be limited to 2 feet
• Only 10 people must be allowed inside pandals, while maintaining all health guidelines issued by Health dept
• Pandals can organise awareness campaign on Dengue, malaria, COVID-19 or organise blood donation drive instead
• Must organise online viewing of Ganesh pandals as much as possible on websites, Facebook live, etc.
• Must ensure no crowding in pandals during Aarati, Bhajan etc.
• All pandals must help local municipalities, police, government authorities, health officials, by following all health guidelines. There will be further guidelines issued, which must be followed.