Stakeholders meet, call for eco-friendly Ganesh fest
Green God – Seminar pits authorities pushing for alternatives to pop against thoses who bat for the material
For the first time, all stakeholders of Ganesh Chaturthithe state environment department, the Maharshtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), BMC, Ganesh mandal chiefs, idol makers, police and the publiccame together for a community seminar-cum-brainstorming session to try and implement eco-friendly celebrations of the fest in the city.
It was organised by the State Environment Department and the MPCB in association with the Young Environmentalists Programme Trust, an NGO working for the environment since 2005. “In the last few years, there has been a gradual change in the mindset of the people towards the environment . The aim was to gather all the stakeholders to create awareness and share their views to make changes in policy,” said Elsie Gabriel, founder of the trust. The seminar pitted the authorities pushing for the use of alternatives to Plaster of Paris (POP) such as clay against pandal chiefs and idol makers who cited the positives of the material.
“I have reports from eminent scientists of MPCB and even environmental consultants stating that POP is not harmful. Besides, it takes about 4-5 months to make a 10-ft clay idol and we can’t make it during monsoon. The same idol can be made in a day using PoP. We have repeatedly told the government that if they want eco-friendly idols, they should provide training and a permanent worksplace with a shed to idol makers. But this hasn’t happened so far,” said Naresh Dahibawkar, president of Brihan Mumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvya Samiti, Mumbai.
Sanjay Bhuskute of the MPCB said blaming the authorities will not solve the purpose and everyone has to do their bit to ensure that the green initiative is taken forward. The problem is not so much with PoP but the colours that the idol makers use for painting. Thus, it is necessary to find alternatives. Dahibawkar said they had recently started using colours which are only nominally harmful, less than 1 per cent.
The environment department urged the society to be environmentally literate. It pushed for the use of materials such as clay, paper mache and even idols made out of metal that could be reused and avoid unecessary pollution. It also emphasised on ways to recycle festival waste and conduct immersions in an evironment-friendly manner. With growing consumerism, we give importance to economics. The spirit of the festival is not pomp and show but a reverence to God and nature. We must not forget nature in our quest to be modern, said Vasla Nair Singh, state environment secretary.