Rourkela: The regional officer of State Pollution Control Board (SPCB), Rourkela, has written to the civic bodies in the region and the industrial townships, asking them to follow the central and state guidelines for idol immersion and ensure a plastic- and pollution-free Durga Puja.Regional officer Anup Kumar Mallick, in his letter dated Oct 14, asked the commissioner of Rourkela municipal corporation, executive officers of Sundargarh, Rajgangpur and Birmitrapur municipalities in Sundargarh district and Deogarh municipality in Deogarh district, executive director (HR) of Rourkela Steel Plant and director of a cement company at Rajgangpur to implement proactive action points like ensuring the use of natural clay and colours, besides biodegradable materials for making idols, no use of plaster of paris, plastic, thermocol (polystyrene), toxic and non-biodegradable chemical dyes, oil paints and synthetic dye-based paints.Besides, the height of the pandals has been limited to 40 feet and idols to 20 feet. There’s also a ban on single-use plastic items at the places of worship, and noise pollution from using loudspeakers, disk jockey (DJ) systems or high-decibel, multi-channel sound system during puja procession.