Dr Manoj Solanki, Convenor, Hindu Janjagruti Samiti has beenpromoting the eco-friendly way of celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi. According tohim if the festival is celebrated as prescribed in the Hindu shastra(spiritualscience), there won’t be any pollution. The pollution takes place because ofthe idols made out of Plaster of Paris(POP). Presently, under the name ofeco-friendly Ganesha Festival, many drives are undertaken like making Ganeshidols from trash, paper pulp or waste material, etc by few organisations.
He adds, “In Goa, thegovernment has welcomed this move, which is inappropriate. Under RTI, we hadwritten to Maharashtra State Pollution Control Board and they have said intheir statement that idols made out of paper pulp cause pollution too. Itreduces the oxygen content in water and possesses threat to aquatic life.Instead, idols made out of clay should be encouraged.
Also, the idol shouldbe immersed in flowing water as per shastra. The idea is to spread the positivevibrations that are attracted in the garlands (nirmalya) and the idol throughdevotional activities over the course of the festival, into the environment.The idols have religious sentiments attached to them and they cannot bemishandled or dumped after use.”
