Impact of Durga Idol Immersion on Water Bodies with Early and Late Removal of Idols in Asansol, West Bengal, India

Indians celebrate a large number of cultural and religious festivals throughout the year. Idols represents the deity, which is worshiped. At the end the idols are mostly immersed in water bodies. Ancillary like flowers, papers, ashes are also disposed in the water. These activities are often ignored as the source of water pollution, as these activities have aesthetic and cultural value. In this study, impact of Durga idol immersion on the physicochemical properties of the water of two ponds in Asansol (West Bengal, India) was assessed. One of the two pond is well managed, where the local authorities remove the idols and other puja associated materials very promptly, whereas in the other pond, these materials remain there for days. Water was collected from these ponds before and after the idol immersion and parameters like, pH, TDS, BOD, COD, heavy metal etc. were estimated. A significant deterioration of most of the water quality parameters in both the ponds was explored but condition is little better in the pond where early removal of immerged materials is practiced. These outcome helps to conclude that the idol immersion activities have negative impact on the water quality, but early removal of debris can lead to lesser pollution. Strict follow of ‘Pollution Control Board’ protocols regarding idol immersion may impose less impact on the water bodies. Apart from this, awareness for using eco-friendly objects for coloring idols, lesser use of nonbiodegradable objects during idol making etc. might improve the situation of the local water bodies.