KOLKATA, 29 SEPT: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will examine the pollution level of the Hooghly river after the immersion of the idols of the goddess Durga, member, mayor-in-council (parks and garden), Mr Debasish Kumar said today. He said the civic authorities will collect water samples from the Hooghly river before and after the immersion, and send them to both Jadavpur University and the Pollution Control Board's (PCB) laboratory for testing. He said after getting the results, the KMC would discuss the future course of action with the PCB to control pollution in the Hooghly. He said the KMC is also planning to set up a special ghat from next year for dissolving the Durga idols on the river bank, in order to avoid polluting the river. Mr Kumar said the KMC will deploy a dedicated team that will quickly clean the structures of the idols from the river. Special volunteer teams will be send to the ghats, and members from those teams will pick up the flowers and other leafs from the ghat and dump them in the vat. Volunteers and other workers will do their duties in three shifts, said Mr Kumar. Officials will be deployed to supervise the work in seventeen ghats, including Gwalior Ghat, Baje Kadamtala, Nimtala, Judge's Ghat, Sovabazar, and Bagbazar. Mr Kumar said the KMC have urged all the puja committees to purchase Durga idols with non-toxic colours. He said a large number of puja committees responded to the appeal and told the clay model makers to use non-toxic paint. “We think the river pollution level will be reduced this year, as most of the idols were made using non-toxic paint,” Mr Kumar said. sns