Overview

• The Bombay High Court has ordered that idols up to 6 feet be immersed only in artificial tanks, with larger idols allowed in seas, rivers or lakes under strict environmental safeguards through at least March 2026.
• Maharashtra clarified that making, selling and displaying Plaster of Paris idols is permitted, with immersion subject to new environmental protocols that include labelling, controlled sites and mandated post-immersion clean‑ups by local bodies.
• Pune Municipal Corporation is boosting eco‑friendly disposal with 241 donation centres and hundreds of artificial tanks at more than 280 locations, and it has stopped distributing ammonium bicarbonate previously used to dissolve PoP idols.
• Large security deployments are in place: Mumbai has over 17,000 police with 11,000 CCTV cameras, drones and AI monitoring, Pune will field more than 8,000 personnel on key visarjan days with noise‑use windows and dry days notified, and Pimpri‑Chinchwad will deploy 2,727 staff with traffic diversions.
• Infrastructure is being readied across cities, including an artificial pond at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park, while officials urge clay idols and waste segregation and heavy turnout is already visible with overnight queues for Lalbaugcha Raja.