(Hindustan Times) India: Thane city saw noise-free Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations this year amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak.
No musical instrument was played during the immersion; there were no elaborate processions and fire crackers either.
The civic body authorities ensured crowd management with Thane Police.
“I have been observing decibel levels in Thane since the last few years during festivals. This year was the quietest celebration, as compared to previous years. Small immersion processions during the fifth day of the annual festival were taken out. This was a welcome change. Though the key celebrations were low-key due to the pandemic, this trend will go a long way in the near future to curb the level of noise pollution,” said Dr Mahesh Bedekar, a Thane-based activist.
Usually, Panchpakhadi and Ram Maruti Road get overcrowded, congested and contribute to noise pollution on the first five days of Ganesh Chaturthi and two days of immersion. But this year was an aberration from the norm.
Last year, the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) authorities had feted Ganesh pandals that had celebrated a noise-free festival, where no microphone and loudspeaker was used.
The pandemic led to muted celebrations at immersion sites as well. “We had released a circular on social media that highlighted various ways of immersion at home. Arrangements were made for idol donation centres, online bookings and mobile immersion tanks. Many devotees availed these facilities. An explainer was also put out about how a devotee can conduct immersion at home for an idol made of clay, or plaster of Paris. Most people were confined indoors, which made crowd management easy at immersion sites,” said Manisha Pradhan, pollution officer, TMC.
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