Ganesh immersion points witness heavy rush on third day in Vijayawada

The roads leading to the immersion points were chock-a-block with processions as many pandal idols were taken out for immersion in the Krishna river on the third day of the Ganesh Chaturthi festivities on Wednesday, September 16.

At the Prakasam Barrage, where pandal organisers Vijayawada as well as from Ibrahimpatnam, Mylavaram, Jaggayyapeta and other areas arrived with idols for immersion. Around a team of 10 sanitation workers were stationed to collect flowers and other puja materials brought by devotees for disposal. Around 150 idol immersions were expected at this point on Wednesday.

However, despite appeals by the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC)’s to the public not to throw puja waste into the river, some continued to do so. A sanitation worker at the Barrage said that he and his colleagues collected 15 buckets of puja waste from the river between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

While the canals falling within the VMC limits remained largely clean on the third day, unlike on the first day, the Bandar Canal near the Tadigadapa bridge, which falls under the purview of the Tadigadapa Municipal Corporation, was choked with Plaster of Paris (PoP) idols and puja materials.

Devotees, who came to the bridge for immersion, complained about the lack of bins for segregating puja waste and poor management of immersion arrangements.