The city could witness a sea-change in its attitude towards reuse and conservation in the next few years, if early discussions between the Bhagyanagar Utsav Samithi and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) pave way for action.
At a coordination meeting last Friday, the two organisations discussed salvaging material from immersed idols next year onwards. According to GHMC officials privy to discussions, the Samithi initiated talks.
Besides coordinating and overseeing celebrations across the city, the Samithi has been installing one of country’s biggest idols for many years during Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations.
“We have to examine some of the samples that have been removed from the lakes to see what material can be salvaged. Following testing, those in the process of making idols have to be consulted to determine feasibility for reuse,” an official said, adding that the onus is on GHMC to take the discussion forward.
An estimated 75,000 idols of various sizes were immersed in Greater Hyderabad during the 10-day festivities this year.
Debris clearing is under way at all lakes and is likely to take four days to be complete, following which the remains of idols will be weighed.
According to HMDA, the metal from the Khairatabad idol, which stood at 57 feet this year, is secured by the Samithi for reuse. Remains of other idols are transferred to GHMC’s garbage transfer stations where they are sorted and auctioned.
Attempts by municipal agencies to promote eco-friendly material like clay have seen limited success. Idols over three feet in height continue to be made of metal and wooden frames, which are then covered with plaster and paints. Reuse of material from idols’ frames, mainly metal, is expected to greatly reduce the amount of debris discarded, saving the municipal administration man-hours and costs post clean-up.
So far, the 2,700 metric tonnes of debris have been cleared from Hussainsagar alone. Last year, over 4,700 tonnes were cleared.
Bhagwant Rao, general secretary of the Samithi and its spokesperson, could not be reached for comment.
