District Collector – Coimbatore and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board have urged the organisers of Vinayaka Chathurthi to ensure that the idols are made of clay and not plaster of Paris and also to refrain from using chemical-based paints on idols to avoid polluting water bodies. The guidelines also stressed that the idols should be made of raw clay (not baked or fired).
The lakes permitted for idols immersions were Singanallur lake and Muthannan Kulam in city besides Samalapuram lake, Bhavani river at Sirumugai, Elagampalayam, Mettupalayam, Subramanian Koil and Thekkampatti, Ambarampalayam river in Pollachi, Noyyal river, Upparu, Anamalai, Nadumalai river in Valparai, Kuniamuthur tank, Vellakinar and Walayar river.
