A day ahead of the Ganpati Visarjan, which will be held on September 9, the citizens group 'Mumbai March' held a silent protest this morning at Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) against the decision of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to allow the immersion of Ganesh idol in the Dahisar river inside the park on the tenth day of the festival on September 9.
It is pertinent to note that the BMC’s decision came despite Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra government to ensure there is no immersion of Ganesh idols inside Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in Mumbai.
The protest was held at 7 am by the group that has been working to push for the rejuvenation of Mumbai’s rivers.
The immersion of Ganesh idols also known as Ganpati Visarjans will take place on September 9 and September 10.
For those unversed, the immersion inside SGNP was stopped in 2018 and the civic body constructed permanent artificial immersion ponds outside the national park in its car parking lot.
However, political banners and posters were put up in the area announcing to Ganesh mandals that immersion is now being allowed inside the national park.
The boating spot at SGNP has been turned into an immersion spot. This is the source of the Dahisar river. The spot is rich in marine biodiversity, said a member of Mumbai March. Moreover, the immersion spot is about a kilometre inside the park. As immersion goes on till late morning the next day, there will be loud music, flood lights, and a lot of crows inside the park overnight.
It also comes to light that the citizens group had sent notices to the BMC, forest officials and the Pollution Control Board regarding the decision, but they have not received a reply, adding they will approach the court shortly for the same.
Share
Tweet
