Thane: Thane city bade a noisy farewell to 10,281 Ganpati bappa idols on the final day of immersion on Friday as noise levels at select visarjan points touched nearly 100 dB. The noise pollution was less compared to the previous years, anti-noise activist Dr Mahesh Bedekar observed.Bedekar, who was monitoring the noise levels till 11.45 pm, said the use of DJ was comparatively less this year but the multiple dhol tasha troupes added to the cacophony at select points. Interestingly, the noise level analysis by the Thane municipal corporation done till 9.45 pm showed the noise levels to have touched a maximum of 82 dB.Thane municipal records showed that as many as 10,281 idols were immersed at 132 points in the city with PoP idols continuing to account for nearly 70%, deflating the claims and attempts of the municipal administration to encourage eco-friendly celebrations this year too. The immersions at certain spots like Kharegaon went on till Saturday afternoon, causing traffic congestion on the Nashik highway with commuters complaining of slow-moving traffic.The corporation claimed to have collected around 11,000 kg of floral waste during the festival period which is likely to be scientifically processed.Meanwhile, activists Prashant Sinkar and Vijay Katti pointed out how idols were still being immersed in natural water bodies, questioning the futility of artificial ponds. Rohit Joshi said the police and civic administrations in Thane failed to enforce the high court directives during visarjan.
