Surat: Surat district collector has published a notification asking Ganesh pandal organizers not to immerse idols in river Tapi. Some 25,000 pandal organizers across the district are worried because the district authorities have not made any alternative arrangements for immersion of the idols.Surat district collector Dhaval Patel has said in the notification that it is the responsibility of local authorities to make alternative arrangements for immersion of Ganesha idols on September 23.Kuwarji Halpati, who contested as an independent candidate from Mandvi assembly seat in the last elections, said, “The administration planned to dig up a big pond near the river and then fill it with water. However, that doesn’t seem to be happening. People would be forced to immerse the idols in canals.”Congress leader Darshan Naik said, “This will not be a big issue in the villages because there are more than one pond there. Big idols can also be immersed in these ponds.”Local BJP leaders feel that if ponds are not dug up on time, people will immerse the idols in the river from different places. A BJP leader said, “The local authorities should ensure that ponds are ready before the immersion day or else the river will have to suffer the consequences.”Jayesh Gandhi, a volunteer of Ganesh mandal of Luhar Faliyu in Mandvi town, said, “Local administration has made an artificial pond on the banks of Tapi River for immersion of Ganesha idols. We will be immersing our idols in this pond. The district authorities have issued an order and we will adhere to it. If this pond had not been built, we would have taken our mandal’s idol to a pond located in a nearby area.”Sarvesh Patel, a devotee of Lord Ganesha from Bardoli, said, “We can’t immerse idols in the river this year. We would have taken our idol for immersion in a lake at Baben village. There are many natural lakes in this area and therefore immersion of idols should not be a problem. Wonder why the local authorities had failed to build artificial ponds to facilitate immersion?”

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