Bangalore, Sep 1 (DHNS): The Ganesh Chaturthi on Thursday will be the last occasion families will be able to buy oil-painted Ganesha idols, if the State government has its way.

Inspecting the arrangements made by the BBMP and the Bangalore police for the festival on Wednesday, Minister in charge of Bangalore R Ashok said the Government was contemplating banning oil-painted Ganesha idols in future.

He said the State may also consider imposing a ban on the sale of Ganesha idols brought from other states for sale in Karnataka.

“The move to ban oil-painted Ganeshas will help our tanks and lakes from being polluted. Besides, the ban on import of Ganesha idols from outside the State will help our own artisans in securing their market position,” he said.

Palike criticised

He took the BBMP to task for its failure to create awareness among idol makers about the dangers of using oil and lead paints, and expressed his hope that they would be better prepared next year.

To take stock of the arrangements in the City for the Ganesha festival beginning Thursday, Ashok inspected the Sankey lake and the Yediyur lake. Speaking to the media after the inspection, Ashok said: “Apart from the 163 mobile tanks that will be moving around the City for immersion of the idols, 26 other lakes have been identified for the same purpose.”

He appealed to citizens to ensure that children are not allowed to step into the lakes to immerse the idols thereby preventing occurrence of any tragedies.

Safe immersion

Bins have been placed outside the immersion tanks for people to deposit flowers and other organic material. Also, policemen have been posted near all the identified tanks and lakes to ensure orderly and safe immersion of idols.

The minister urged citizens organising public celebrations to ensure that no inconvenience was caused to citizens. On Wednesday evening, BBMP Commissioner Siddaiah also visited the three major lakes, Sankey, Yediyur and Ulsoor, where immersion of Ganesha idols is expected to be the highest.

With regard to the cleaning of the Ulsoor lake, the BBMP is now in talks with the Madras Engineering Group over cleaning the lake on a regular basis.