'Green Ganeshas' set to invade Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi, eco-friendly Ganesh idols made of clay and idols embedded with neem seeds are once again back in the trend. With people getting conscious of the ill effects of pollutants on the environment, eco-friendly Ganesh idols set to gain much popularity this year.

Several government departments are now planning to provide a total of 160,000 eco-friendly Ganesh idols in Hyderabad.

According to Forest and Endowments Minister A Indrakaran Reddy, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) is preparing to distribute 70,000 clay Ganesh idols free of cost in the city. Also, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is going to provide 50,000 idols and the Endowments department would provide as many as 40,000 free clay idols to the devotees.

Taking an active part in spreading awareness on the need to install eco-friendly idols, several NGOs, corporates, start-ups, and Ganesh idol manufacturers in the city are motivating devotees to 'Go Green'.

Speaking to The Hans India, an environmentalist working on the Neknampur Lake and founder of NGO Dhruvansh, Madhulika Choudhary said, "Though this year pollution is less as per the pollution control board reports it doesn't mean that we get a green card to pollute lakes and rivers. We request every devotee to use only Ganesh idols made up of either clay or cow dung. These idols must be painted with natural colors."

"We have manufactured around 500 eco-friendly idols with the help of a few volunteers and soon going to distribute them in residential areas," said Abhay Joshi, Founder of Revolution NGO.

A joint family of 12 members in Kukatpally have also decided to install five seed Ganesh idols at their home. One of the family members Shekhar Kumar says, "Previous year we had installed a PoP idol but this year a 12-year-old kid from our family have told us how PoP is harmful to the environment so we have decided to go green this year by installing seed and clay Ganesh's and perform immersion in a bucket at our home."

A large number of idols are made of Plaster of Paris (PoP), sometimes with plastic and cement, too. The PoP which has calcium sulfate hemihydrate takes many years to fully dissolve in the water. They reduce oxygen in the water, putting aquatic life in peril," said an environmentalist.