Aurangabad: Households and public mandals have been getting ready to bid adieu to Lord Ganesha amidst traditional zeal as 10-day Ganesh Utsav is set to end with immersion of idols on Sunday.Elaborate arrangements are in place at Harsul Lake and other immersion points under the jurisdiction of Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). The Fire Brigade and city police were busy making final arrangements on Saturday.Over half a dozen dug-wells, which are traditionally used for idol immersion, were slated to be filled with water by Sunday to facilitate idol immersion. Even though environmentalists had sought that artificial tanks be provided for immersion across the city, such facility has not been provided. The problem with immersion in wells is that the veins that bring water to wells could get contaminated or choked with the material from the idols.Harsul Lake, which witnesses a large gathering of devotees on immersion day, has witnessed installation of a large artificial tank near its boundary for idol immersion. Police personnel, as well as civic authorities, said loudspeakers would be used for instructing every group of devotees coming for immersion to deposit Nirmalya (flower offering) and other leftovers in separate containers before immersing the Ganesh idol in the artificial tank.Shilpa Lalsare, a homemaker, said it was always difficult to bid adieu to Lord Ganesha after spending 10-days of faith and worship. “Our entire family goes to the immersion spot to bid farewell to Lord Ganesha. Time flew, and we’ve reached the tenth day,” she said.Prithviraj Pawar, founder president of Aurangabad Ganesh Mahasangh, an apex body of different Ganesh mandals, said immersion day was expected to pass smoothly. “The city has not witnessed a single untoward incident in the past over a week of Ganesh festivities. We appeal to all public mandals to follow safety norms while taking out processions on immersion day,” he said.Environment activists appealed to different households to immerse Ganesha idols at their homes only as an eco-friendly celebration. “Such immersion of idols not only helps contain pollution of water bodies but also reduces the unnecessary rush of people on the ghats on immersion days,” nature expert Kishor Pathak said.The authorities have also pressed into service special squads comprising lifeguards and security personnel at Kaygao-toka, the confluence of Godavari and Pravara rivers, about 50 km from the city, where a large number of idols of the public Ganesh mandals are immersed.

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