CM Rekha Gupta sets up 81 eco-kunds for Ganesh Visarjan in Delhi
Synopsis
On Anant Chaturdashi 2026, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta announced 81 artificial immersion kunds across the capital for Ganesh Visarjan, urging devotees to protect waterways while honouring the festival — reinforcing an NGT-backed eco-compliance drive.
Key Takeaways
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced 81 artificial immersion kunds set up across Delhi for Ganesh Visarjan on 25 September 2026 .
Devotees are urged to use designated kunds and avoid immersing idols in natural water bodies like the Yamuna river .
The initiative aligns with a 2015 National Green Tribunal directive requiring local bodies to provide eco-friendly visarjan facilities.
Idols made from plaster of Paris and chemical paints are a major source of heavy-metal contamination in water bodies.
A digital directory at delhiinitiatives.com helps devotees locate the nearest artificial kund.
As the city prepares to bid farewell to Lord Ganesha on Anant Chaturdashi, Friday, 25 September 2026, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has announced that the Delhi government has established 81 artificial immersion ponds (kunds) across the capital — urging every devotee to choose these eco-friendly sites over natural water bodies for the ritual visarjan.
Posting on X in Hindi, CM Gupta extended festival greetings and coupled them with a direct civic appeal: 'sabhī śraddhāluoṃ se āgrah hai ki nirdhārit kuṃḍoṃ meṃ hī śraddhāpūrvak visarjan kareṃ' — 'all devotees are requested to immerse idols reverently only in the designated ponds' — and added that faith and environmental sanctity must go hand in hand. Devotees seeking the nearest kund can locate it at delhiinitiatives.com.
Why rivers and lakes go off-limits on Ganesh Visarjan
The push for artificial ponds is not new — it has roots in a landmark 2015 National Green Tribunal (NGT) directive that ordered state governments and local bodies to provide dedicated immersion facilities to curb the contamination of rivers and lakes. The trigger: idols made from plaster of Paris and coated with chemical paints dissolve slowly and release toxins that spike heavy-metal levels in water, harming aquatic ecosystems and downstream drinking-water quality.
Since that ruling, Indian cities have progressively scaled up the artificial-kund model each Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja season, turning a judicial mandate into a civic routine. Delhi, with the Yamuna river already under severe pollution stress, has particular reason to keep mass immersions away from its banks.
81 kunds, one QR code, a city-wide operation
The scale of the Delhi government's logistics this year is notable: 81 kunds distributed across the capital means devotees in most neighbourhoods have a nearby designated site. The linked directory — accessible via the official portal — functions as a real-time locator, a practical addition that signals the administration is trying to reduce the friction that often pushes devotees toward the convenience of the nearest riverbank or drain.
CM Gupta's message closed with the traditional chant — 'Gaṇapati Bappā Moryā!' — signalling that the government's environmental push is framed not as a restriction on faith but as an extension of it. Whether participation levels at the designated kunds match the ambition of the infrastructure rollout will be the real test, with Delhi's pollution-control monitors likely tracking water quality in the days that follow.
Faith, this festival season, is being asked to carry an extra responsibility — and the city has tried to make honouring it as easy as a web search.
Point of View
Which has repeatedly positioned itself as both culturally orthodox and administratively competent, this is also a messaging play — demonstrating governance capability on a high-visibility festival day. The real policy test arrives in the post-festival water-quality data for the Yamuna.
NationPress
25 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I find the nearest Ganesh Visarjan kund in Delhi in 2026?
The Delhi government has set up a directory at delhiinitiatives.com where devotees can locate the nearest of the 81 artificial immersion kunds set up across the capital for Anant Chaturdashi 2026.
How many artificial immersion kunds has Delhi set up for Ganesh Visarjan?
The Delhi government, under Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, has arranged 81 artificial immersion kunds across the city for the Ganesh Visarjan on 25 September 2026.
Why are artificial kunds used for Ganesh Visarjan instead of rivers?
Idols made from plaster of Paris and chemical paints release toxins into water bodies when immersed, harming aquatic ecosystems. The National Green Tribunal directed governments in 2015 to provide artificial kunds to prevent this pollution.
What is Anant Chaturdashi and why is it significant?
Anant Chaturdashi is the 14th and final day of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, on which devotees perform the ritual immersion (visarjan) of Lord Ganesha's idol, bidding farewell until the following year.
What has the National Green Tribunal said about idol immersion in rivers?
In 2015, the National Green Tribunal directed state governments and local bodies to create designated artificial ponds for idol immersion, specifically to prevent water contamination from plaster-of-Paris idols and chemical paints used in their decoration.
