Surat: Construction of 10 artificial ponds has been completed by Surat Municipal Corporation to facilitate immersion of 8,000 Gauri Ganesh idols in different areas of the city on Monday.One artificial pond each has been constructed in Rander, Athwa, Central, Udhna, Limbayat and Varachha zones and four in Katargam zone. Except two which are 6 lakh litre capacity ponds, the others are bigger and their capacity range from 12 lakh to 18 lakh litres.SMC had constructed 11 artificial ponds for immersion of small Ganesh idols last year, but not many people had immersed the idols in them. They had preferred to immerse the idols of Gauri Ganesh in Tapi River only.“We may issue an advisory asking people to immerse Gauri Ganesh idols in artificial ponds only. They will not be allowed to immerse the idols in Tapi River,” said D M Jariwala, additional city engineer, SMC.It is estimated that 15,000 households install idols of Ganesh in their houses during Ganesh Chaturthi in the city and a majority of people immerse them after performing puja for a day.“Despite repeated announcements, some people were seen going to the riverbank for immersion of the idols. We hope people will not immerse their idols in the river and make use of the artificial ponds to complete the ritual on Monday. We will deal strictly with people caught immersing the idols in the river,” Jariwala said.

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