The Delhi Pollution Control Committee has prohibited the use of Plaster-of-Paris in idol making. The chemical plaster is known to trigger heavy pollution in the Yamuna and water bodies after idols made out of it are immersed during festivals.
The land holding and civic agencies have also come up with a list of around 150 sites – mostly DDA and MCD parks - where artificial ponds could be constructed for immersion of smaller idols.
The sites have been selected based on availability of water, electricity and space for parking earth moving vehicles. It has also been proposed that water tankers can bring in treated water from nearest STPs to fill up the tanks, if water is not available. Each district has sent a list of 12 - 20 sites where such ponds could be constructed.
A Central Pollution Control Board report in 2018 had revealed that after immersion the level of heavy metals such as chromium, nickel and lead in the Yamuna had shot up by at least two to 11 times above permissible limits.
Read more of this in a report by Joydeep Thakur published in Hindustan Times.. (Link given below)
(Plaster of Paris (PoP) must be banned in idols throughout the country - Editor)
