Nagpur: Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) collected 178.2 tonnes of nirmalya during Ganpati festival in the last 11 days.On the 11th day (September 29), the city recorded 3,943 immersions of Ganesh idols. Of these, 315 Sarvajanik mandal idols, taller than four feet, were immersed in the Koradi tank. These took the total number of Ganesh idols immersed in temporary tanks to 1.48 lakh, NMC officials of the waste management department told TOI.The idol immersion numbers show citizens supported the city administrations drive of eco-friendly Ganesh festival by opting for clay idols. Only 4.85% of the idols immersed in temporary tanks were made of Plaster of Paris (PoP), while 95.15% were made of clay.The NMC will give the clay collected from the temporary tanks to sculptors in the city who will reuse it. The NMC is already using nirmalya to make compost.The Nehru Nagar zone recorded the highest collection of nirmalyas at 27 tonnes, followed by Laxmi Nagar zones (23 tonnes). The highest number of idol immersions were recorded at Dharampeth zone. The NMCs 57 temporary tanks under Dharampeth zone saw immersion of 28,796 idols, followed by 19,670 immersion in 46 tanks of Nehru Nagar zone. The Ashi Nagar zone witnessed the lowest number of immersions (2,839 idols) in 15 artificial tanks.We also published the following articles recentlyNMC collects 2L idols & 153 tonnes of NirmalyaThe civic body in Nashik collected over two lakh Ganesh idols and 153 tonnes of Nirmalya during the recent festivities. The number of idols collected this year was slightly lower than last year, while the collection of Nirmalya increased by about 10 tonnes. The Nashik Municipal Corporation set up collection centers and artificial ponds for safe immersion of the idols. In Pune, arrangements were made for the last day of Ganeshotsav, including the deployment of mobile immersion tanks and the cleaning of procession routes. The NMC in Nashik also set up collection centers for unsold idols made of plaster-of-paris (PoP) and plans to implement eco-friendly idol-making next year.NMC collects 10 tonnes of puja waste during immersionThe Nashik Municipal Corporation has collected 10 tonnes of Nirmalya (puja waste) during Ganpati immersion. They have set up Nirmalya Kalash on the river banks to collect the waste and have received 3,000 Ganpati idols from devotees instead of immersing them in rivers. The civic body has made arrangements for the last day of Ganpati immersion and has prepared 44 natural immersion spots and 27 artificial ponds across the city. They have also engaged 1,500 volunteers to collect the idols. In Mumbai, 17,187 idols were immersed, with 45% of them being immersed in artificial tanks.SWaCH waste pickers collect 150 tonnes of nirmalya from 40 immersion centresOver 200 waste pickers in Pune collected more than 150 tonnes of garbage during the Ganeshotsav festival under the Nirmalya to Nisarga initiative. The waste pickers also segregated up to 40 tonnes of dry waste. The initiative, run by SWaCH for 15 years, aims to transform immersion proceedings. SWaCH partnered with the International Labour Organization for the smooth execution of the initiative. The dedication and efforts of the waste pickers showcase Pune as a culturally sensitive and environmentally conscious destination.

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