The maximum response came from Karve nagar - Warje ward office where, in all, 34,167 idols were immersed in water tanks followed by 16,294 in Sahakarnagar and 13,290 in Dhankawadi ward office jurisdiction.

About 57 containers were put on the job to collect the remains of the immersion.

"The PMC had launched the initiative around five years ago despite opposition from several quarters. The idea was to keep the rivers clean by encouraging public to immerse the idols in artificial tanks. In the first year, only a few hundred idols were immersed in the tanks.

But this year, the figure crossed 80,000, said PMC Public Relation Officer Sanjay More.

This year, the PMC conservancy staff managed to clean up the city roads within two hours after the procession. They collected over 25 containers of garbage and two containers of foot wears, ward officer Madhav Jagtap said.

Meanwhile, Mauli Seva Pratishthan, an NGO, has alleged that the corporation resorted to throwing the immersed idols into the river while cleaning up the tanks, thereby defeating the whole purpose of setting up tanks.