Durga idols immersion in Delhi adds up to polluted Yamuna

After the conclusion of the 10-day celebrations of Durga Puja in New Delhi, the immersion of idols of goddess Durga started on Saturday in the national capital's only river body, Yamuna.

Hundreds of devotees gathered on the banks of river Yamuna in Kalindi Kunj and Geeta Colony after Vijay Dashami for immersion procession. The banks of the river Yamuna were seen in an erratic condition after the immersion concluded.

The second largest river in India, the Yamuna which is also the second most polluted river after the Ganges, was already covered in half-melted pieces of Ganesh Idols after last month's procession of Ganesh Chaturthi festival.

In 2015, National Green Tribunal (NGT) had banned immersion of idols made of non-biodegradable material like quick-setting gypsum plaster, also known as Plaster of Paris, or plastic in the Yamuna river, however, making of idols in the industrial scale reportedly make idols from Plaster of Paris which takes years to dissolve and paint which consist of heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium and lead.

Around 19 drains open into the Yamuna in Delhi. Industrial wastes also find their way into the river from large industrial units (22 in Haryana, 42 in Delhi and 17 in Uttar Pradesh). Although Delhi constitutes just 2% of the catchment area of the Yamuna, it contributes to 80% of the total pollution of the river.