Hyderabad High Court on Thursday directed the Hyderabad City Police Commissioner to hold talks with the Ganesh Utsav Samiti on the annual Ganesh idols’ immersion in Hussain Sagar lake and submit a report within four weeks.
Hearing a public interest litigation filed by a Hyderabad-based advocate Mamidi Venu Madhav, a division Bench of the court on Thursday asked the police officials to explore the possibility of reducing the size and the numbers of the Ganesh idols immersed in the city lake.
Earlier the bench heard the arguments of the counsel for the Telangana State Government on the issue. The counsel argued that any attempt to put restrictions on the size of the idols would create a law and order problem in the city.
The petitioner wanted the High Court to intervene and put an end to the immersion of thousands of idols in the historic Hussian Sagar lake as it was adding to the already dangerous levels of pollution.
Though the petition was filed several months ago, the division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice Dilip Bhosale and Justice SV Bhatt had allowed the immersion of idols in September last with a rider that this will be the last year of immersion.
The bench had asked the officials of Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to make alternate arrangements and find other water bodies for the immersion of idols.
While the officials were willing to opt for alternatives, the Ganesh Utsav Samiti, the organiser of the event have refused to budge from their stand that idols will be immersed only in the Hussain Sagar lake. More than 22,000 idols of more than one-metre height were immersed in the lake this year.