The Hindu : Front Page : Don't buy painted Ganesh idols, State tells people

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Don't buy painted Ganesh idols, State tells people

Special Correspondent

Authorities to issue green guidelines to stem water contamination

PRO-EARTH INITIATIVE: There will be guidelines soon on sale of idols with metal-based paints.

BANGALORE: The State Government has appealed to the people to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi in an eco-friendly way by opting for unpainted idols.

Fisheries, Ports and Inland Water Transport Minister J. Krishna Palemar, addressing presspersons here on Friday after meeting with the Bangalore Water Sanitary and Sewage Board, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and Lake Development Authority officials here, said idols should be immersed in designated spots in the larger interests of the environment and to prevent water contamination.

The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board has framed guidelines which will be distributed to the public. They include avoiding sale and worship of idols coloured with metal-based paints, providing impermeable lining for immersion tanks and spreading awareness through mass media, Kanwar Pal, Secretary, Department of Environment and Ecology, told The Hindu. The meeting discussed measures to stem increasing contamination of lakes, wells and groundwater such as demarcation and fencing of lake beds, intercepting and diverting sewage away from lakes, setting up sewage treatment plants, greening the lakes' periphery and so on.

Polluted

Of 135 lakes under the BBMP's purview and 35 under the BDA, 40 were polluted. The KSPCB had issued closure notices to 46 industrial units that did not comply with the environmental law, including the Water Act. It has filed 18 criminal cases against apartment owners also, besides filing criminal cases against the BWSBB, city municipal councils and town municipal councils for discharging untreated sewage into water bodies, Mr. Palemar said.

The Lake Development Authority has developed 16 lakes in the State, including Amani tank in Tumkur, Hombalamma and Gowramma tanks in Magadi and Kundawala Lake in Davangere district, he said.

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