Thane: In order to protect the natural water bodies from getting polluted and protecting the marine life, activists and politicians from the lake city have urged authorities to construct artifical lakes across Thane to celebrate Chhath puja.The festival is largely observed by the North Indian community and it will be celebrated with much fanfare on November 14 at Upvan and Rayladevi lake. The four-day festival began from Sunday, November 11 and will go up till Wednesday, November 14.The MNS has dashed out a letter to the Maharashtra polluction control board and have alerted the municipal authorities to encourage celebrating all festivities in artificial ponds and not in lakes. The concept of artificial ponds began with Ganesh festival wheren thousands of residents immerse their idols in them, causing less damage to water bodies.They has also shared last year’s pictures of waterfronts scattered with floral waste after the celebrations.“The floral waste and other materials used during any festival are left behind, posing danger to the marine life and damaging the quality of water. Besides, it also causes inconvenience to thousands of morning walkers who use the lakefronts daily. The authorities must take corrective steps and stress on the use of artificial ponds,” said Sandeep Pachange, an MNS member from Thane.Meanwhile, the pollution control board of the Thane municipal corporation claimed to have received no such request.

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