Ganesh immersion: HC upholds ban on PoP idols in Hussain Sagar, other lakes

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court reaffirmed its 2021 ruling prohibiting the immersion of Ganesh idols made from plaster of Paris (PoP) in local lakes and ponds, including Hussain Sagar in Hyderabad.

Instead, these idols must be immersed in designated baby ponds created by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and other civic bodies, the court said.

During the proceedings, a bench comprising Justice T Vinod Kumar and Justice J Anil Kumar declined to consider a contempt petition against ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and D Sridhar Babu, who were accused of facilitating arrangements, such as deploying large cranes around Hussainsagar for idol immersions.

Additionally, the court refused to impose any restrictions on the production and sale of PoP idols by the Telangana Ganesh Murti Kalakaar Welfare Association based in Dhoolpet.

The bench was addressing a contempt petition along with several interim applications submitted by advocate Mamidi Venu Madhav, who requested the court to penalize the authorities for not enforcing the 2021 order.

The judges acknowledged the government’s commitment from the previous year to implement the order and expressed their satisfaction, thereby closing the contempt petition.

They also declined to consider another request to include the newly established HYDRAA in the contempt case, as this entity is now responsible for lake protection.

Counsel for the Dhoolpet Idol Makers association, MV Durga Prasad, argued that PoP itself is not harmful and, therefore, its use should not be prohibited.

“Plaster of Paris (PoP) is widely utilized in the medical field, where it is used to make all bandages. Additionally, many false ceilings in homes are constructed with PoP. The issue lies specifically with the immersion of PoP idols in lakes, so the court should focus on preventing such immersions rather than imposing an unnecessary ban on the use of PoP,” he stated.

Senior counsel L Ravi Chander, representing the Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samiti, opposed Venu Madhav’s application to reopen the contempt case.

“This is a 2021 order from the high court. Any contempt action should be initiated within one year,” he argued.