The idea took shape after a trial run in Pune last year.NGOs and Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) had appealed to citizens to immerse PoP idols in water containing ammonium bicarbonate. When PoP idols are immersed in this solution, it dissolves to form ammonium sulphate and calcium carbonate. Ammonium sulphate gets dissolved in water, while calcium carbonate settles as sludge.Ammonium sulphate is a good plant fertilizer. Calcium carbonate is used as raw material to make chalk and cement additives for cement bricks and sheets.In Kolhapur, Nisarga Mitra, a city-based forum of activists, received over 300 PoP idols on immersion day . The forum immersed the idols in artificial ponds containing water mixed with ammonium bicarbonate.

Source: Times of India September 18, 2016 07:04 UTC