KMC stays firm on eco-friendly idols

Kolhapur: A joint meeting of KMC officials and artisans was held on Friday evening regarding making eco-friendly idols ahead of the Ganesh festival.The meeting was chaired by KMC additional commissioner Keshav Jadhav. Officials and representatives of idol makers’ association were present for the meeting.All idol makers were requested to follow the 2020 guidelines of the Central Pollution Control Board. Additional commissioner Keshav Jadhav gave instructions to KMC environment engineer Sameer Vyaghrambare to arrange for maximum immersion tanks to control the water pollution of rivers and lakes at the municipal level as per the government decision. It is mandatory for all idol makers to register their business with the municipal corporation.Members from the idol makers association assured that the colours used for Ganesh idols are natural and won’t create any pollution.On this occasion, regional officer of Maharashtra Pollution Control Board Ankush Patil, environmental expert Uday Gaikwad, Shivaji University representative Dr. Pallavi Bhosle, S.A. Varale, deputy city engineer N.S. Patil, Satish Phappe, Kiran Majgaonkar, Kiran Kumhar, Vinayak Padalkar, Sambhaji Majgaonkar were present at the meeting.Last week, the civic body had decided to ban making, selling, and stocking of Plaster of Paris (PoP)-made idols. Also, citizens should not immerse idols made from PoP in the river or natural water sources, the order read.