Aditya Bhatt, Master’s in History, Dayanand Anglo-Vedic (Post-graduate) College Dehradun
Surabhi Singh, PGDM, LLB (Hons.), Founder & Managing Director, Dhirenuma Social Welfare Foundation
ABSTRACT
India is a country of diversities. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Gujarat to Ganga Sagar, people of different cultures reside in the country, and celebrate different types of festivals. In these festivals some festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja etc. are celebrated with great enthusiasm all over India, The size of idols varies from one and half feet, 20 feet, up to 40 feet heights are immersed and on the day of immersion, idols are immersed in rivers and other bodies with great pomp of cheers. The number of idol immersion is increasing every year, so water pollution is gradually increasing, which is a frightening situation. Idols are constructed by plaster of Paris, clothes, bamboo etc. and decorated by paints, varnish, plastic flowers, paint contain very heavy metals like lead, cadmium, sulphur, arsenic and chromium. The floating material released in river and other water bodies after decomposition result in eutrophication, heavy metal pollution increases the amount of acid in the water which spoils the quality of water. Due to this, the level of water pollution in rivers increases and it has harmful effects on the aquatic ecosystem.
In this paper we will study about the harmful affects of idol immersion in water bodies. No one can stop these religious activities but pollution can be reduced by creating awareness
among people and society.
Keywords: Idol immersion, Religious Waste, River Pollution, Uttarakhand, Toxic Waste.
