In Nashik, the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) gathered over 200,000 Ganapati idols donated by devotees in Nashik city during the Ganapati immersion on Anant Chaturdashi. Additionally, NMC collected 177 tonnes of puja waste. NMC has been striving for eco-friendly Ganapati immersion to prevent river pollution and encourages devotees to donate idols to NMC rather than immersing them into the Godavari river. The corporation has designated 80 locations in the city for idol immersion, comprising 27 natural immersion spots along the Godavari river and its tributaries, Nasardi, Waghadi, and Waldevi rivers. Additionally, artificial ponds have been set up at 53 locations across six divisions of the municipal corporation to facilitate devotees in the idol immersion process and prevent river pollution. Devotees traditionally take a dip in the river or the artificial ponds before donating the idols to NMC. NMC officials reported a collection of 5,000 more idols this year compared to last year. Staff and volunteers were stationed at immersion spots to collect idols and puja waste from devotees, resulting in the collection of 177 MT of puja waste, an 18% increase from last year. Most idols, numbering 79,000, were collected in the Panchavati division, followed by 45,000 idols from the Nashik Road division and the rest from the other four divisions - Nashik East, Nashik West, Satpur, and Cidco divisions of NMC.