Immersion of idols of Goddess Durga in the rivers Swarnarekha and Kharkai on the occasion of Vijay Dashmi has led to an increase in pollution level in the already contaminated rivers.
The banks of river Swarnarekha and Kharkai only goes to the show the kind of waste and filth spilled all over. The river ghats bore the brunt with the deluge of garbage, puja material and idols. However, several philanthropic out fits have started the cleanliness drive in the city. Before other civic bodies like Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC), Mango Notified Area Committee (MNAC) and Jugsalai Municipality, some organisations embarked the cleaning process from today.
The cleanliness drive that started today will continue for about a week making the banks and the river clean enough before Chhath Puja.
The East Singhbhum district administration had directed Jamshedpur's all the four urban bodies to clear all the 15 major ghats.
BJP Bagbera block leaders and Jamshedpur block officials started drive for nearly an hour on the bank of River Kharkai near Baroda Ghat. Around 50 led by BJP leader Vijay Kumar Singh were involved.
Over 100 kg of garbage comprising puja paraphernalia, plastics, leftover food, jute sacks and food leftovers was collected.
“It is used by people for performing various rituals and we decided to clean the ghats after Durga puja immersion. The garbage collected were filled in a ditch dug up near the ghat and covered with soil,” said Subodh Kumar a local resident.
Cleanliness drive was also carried by Tatanagar Railway Station. “We have been observing a fortnight cleanliness drive which concluded today with a shramdaan in which employees took active part and cleaned the station premises. Similar drive was also carried out in several other stations under the Chakradharpur railway division,” said Bhaskar, spokesperson of Chakradharpur railway division.
Like every past years this year too, the Durga idol immersion has led to the pollution of even the few water bodies of the city, making the water hazardous for use. The experts have expressed their concern over the negligence. There are two major rivers of the city, river Subarnarekha and Kharkai and as these are located close to the town, most of the Durga idols have been immersed in these rivers. For some years now there is a growing awareness about the water pollution caused by the immersion of Durga idols made out of plaster of Paris, in natural water bodies such as lakes, rivers and the sea. Pollution is also caused by the waste generated by the non biodegradable accessories used during the worship.
