Pune: Families who celebrate the one-and-a-half-day Ganpati festival will bid farewell to their household Ganesh idols on Sunday (September 8), as part of the immersion rituals.

This tradition, followed by many households, involves immersing the idols after a day and a half of worship. The immersion process typically begins after 5 p.m., with the goal of completing the rituals before sunset.

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has made extensive arrangements for smooth and eco-friendly immersions this year. To avoid pollution in natural water bodies, PMC has set up 42 artificial ponds and 568 steel tanks at 265 locations across the city.

The PMC has also placed donation centers where devotees can donate their idols instead of immersing them in water bodies. Special containers have been provided for collecting flower offerings (nirmalya) to ensure proper disposal.

Sandeep Kadam, Deputy Commissioner of the Solid Waste Management Department at PMC, emphasized the importance of environmentally friendly practices during the festival.

"Due to the release of water from dams, some immersion ponds located near the riverbanks have been submerged. To address this, we have placed steel tanks as an alternative option.

In central areas such as Narayan Peth, Shaniwar Peth, and the Jayant Rao Tilak Bridge area, large crowds gather for immersion starting from the afternoon and continuing until late at night. Special immersion ponds have been arranged in these areas to accommodate the influx of devotees," he said.

The PMC has requested that devotees avoid immersing idols in rivers or other natural water bodies, and instead use the artificial ponds or donate their idols at designated centers. By doing so, devotees can contribute to an eco-friendly Ganesh festival while ensuring the preservation of water resources.