KTR wants GHMC to emulate Ahmedabad model on Ganesh immersion

Telangana Rashtra Samithi Working president and former Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao has suggested that the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) take a leaf out of the book of their counterparts in Ahmedabad and emulate the practice there for Ganesh Chaturthi.

The practice, which was tweeted about by Vijay Nehra, a Twitter user, had pictures of Dashama idols being left on the banks of the Sabarmati River instead of immersing them in the water, so that the river would not be polluted.

Nehra tweeted: “Ordinary citizens in Ahmedabad have decided to keep River Sabarmati clean. Instead of immersing the Dashama idols in the river, they have respectfully left them on the banks. Thousands and thousands of them. Unbelievable change.” (sic)

Retweeting the pics, Rao asked ‘if Ahmedabad can do it, why can’t we in Hyderabad take a leaf from their book and try the same for Ganesh



Chaturthi? What say Mayor Bonthu Rammohan and GHMC Commissioner and all Hyderabadis??” (sic).

Responding to KTR’s tweet, GHMC Commissioner M Dana Kishore replied that he would ‘moot it’ in Tuesday’s coordination meeting on Ganesh Nimajjanam. He also said he was sure that ‘Hyderabadis would respond positively’.

“It can also gain major traction if spread by 30 NGOs working on Saaf Hyderabad and Shaandaar Hyderabad,” he added.

Every year hundreds of idols are immersed in Hussain Sagar, despite the GHMC constructing 23 immersion ponds in different areas. Last year, nearly 60,000 idols were reported to have been immersed in the lake. After the 11-day festivities, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) had cleared 4,716 metric tonnes, comprising remains of Ganesh idols, metal frames, Plaster of Paris and other pooja materials from the lake.