BBMP yet to crack down on PoP idols, toxic paints

Sanjay R. Murty | NT

Bengaluru

Even as Ganesha Chaturthi is less than a week ahead, officials of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike are yet to crack down on the sale of Ganesha idols made with Plaster of Paris (PoP) and those coloured with harmful chemical paint in the city.

BBMP had released a list of Nodal officers in each of the 63 sub-divisions in the city. These officers were responsible for granting permissions for public celebrations as well as to ensure that eco-friendly idols are being sold ahead of the festival. Each sub-division has a team of four officers – one each from BBMP, Bescom, and Fire and Police departments.

 On Friday, News Trail contacted the BBMP Nodal Officers of five sub-divisions (one each in the South, West, East, Yelahanka and RR Nagar zones). The officials said that the sale of PoP idols has ‘not come to their notice’ and that no fines had been imposed till Friday on those selling such idols.

Although the BBMP’s higher-ups had given them ‘guidelines’ on coloured Ganesha idols, the officials were not sure on how to specifically recognize those with harmful chemical paint.

 The use of a tarpaulin sheet to cover the idols while they are out on display was a common practice. However, idol vendors all over the city are using plastic covers to protect the idols from the rain this year. With each idol being covered with a separate plastic cover, the use of plastics has gone up. The BBMP officials were unaware of this practice and told News Trail that the matter would be referred to the civic body’s higher officials for guidelines.

Meanwhile, a KSPCB official told News Trail that the covers being used are recyclable and are not made of banned plastic.