Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) in Nashik city collected over 200,000 Ganapati idols during the immersion ceremony on Anant Chaturdashi. In addition, NMC also gathered 177 tonnes of puja waste to prevent river pollution. The city has been promoting eco-friendly Ganapati immersion practices and encouraging devotees to donate idols to NMC instead of immersing them in the Godavari river.

NMC designated 80 locations for the idol immersion process, including 27 natural spots along the riverbanks and 53 artificial ponds across six municipal divisions. Devotees could opt to immerse the idols in the river or artificial ponds before giving them to NMC. This year, NMC collected 5,000 more idols compared to the previous year, amounting to a total of 18% increase in puja waste collection.

NMC officials were stationed at all immersion points to collect idols and puja waste from devotees. The Panchavati division saw the highest number of idols collected (79,000), followed by the Nashik Road division (45,000). The remaining idols were gathered from the Nashik East, Nashik West, Satpur, and Cidco divisions of NMC.