India, Sept. 1 -- The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has directed all departments to strictly ensure that all eco-friendly measures are implemented as planned, including idol immersion and nirmalya (floral offering) collection, during the Ganesh festival, a civic official said on Monday.

On Saturday, additional municipal commissioner Vijaykumar Khorate had reviewed the preparedness of the Environment and Health departments in a special meeting, attended also by deputy commissioner Sachin Pawar.

Khorate instructed the officials to make sure that clay (shadu) and plaster of paris (POP) idols are immersed in separate artificial tanks. "Adequate ammonium bicarbonate has been made available for POP idol immersion, and it must ...