Eco-friendly Ganesha, a step towards saving nature

Eco-friendly Ganesha made out of clay, natural fibres, paper etc saves nature. How? What is it all about?

Hyderabad:Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated with a lot of happiness and prosperity. We are perhaps getting Eco friendly in idols but time to get more aggressive in saving nature. A 360-degree approach is needed to save nature.

We keep hearing a lot these days; save nature, save a life. Idols size, shapes, and materials have been changed. So what is it all about!!

Eco-friendly Ganesha, a step towards saving nature. This Ganesha is made by a 4 year old girl, Myra

• Basically, POP contains chemicals like magnesium, gypsum, phosphorus, and sulphur. The dyes that are commonly used to decorate these idols also contain elements such as mercury, cadmium, arsenic, lead, and carbon.
• When these idols are immersed in common water sources like the sea, ponds, lakes, etc. it gets contaminated with a high amount of metal and other chemicals that kill fish and plants that live in water and even disturbs aquatic lives. So we have switched over to Eco-Friendly Ganesha.

Chocolate Ganesha, Modak Ganesha, Ganesha made of leaves, paper mache, clay, aata (flour), turmeric, red soil and fertilizers, & contain plant seeds and much more. These are also available online. Even many sculptors have started making it, so it is also available in markets.

• Recently we heard the news that a woman in Indore, Madhya Pradesh had made a Lord Ganesha idol ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi using chocolate on the theme of coronavirus and is planning to immerse it in milk.
• Even Malhar Foundation and Deepak Baba Hande Mitra Mandal have undertaken the task of offering free eco-friendly idols to Ganesh devotees who are facing financial difficulties. As these idols are bought from sculptors whose work has been hit badly due to COVID-19 lockdown will also help them. Mainly States such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana usually see large-scale celebrations during the ten-day-long Ganesh Chaturthi festival.

But the concept of Eco Friendly is only to idols. What about other things like incense sticks, prasad, sindoor, puja samagri (items) etc. are still packaged in plastic and lakhs and lakhs of devotees purchase and offer to the lord and it creates a lot of pollution.

If we look at the cost of incense sticks packaged in plastics costs Rs 10 whereas packaged in a jute bag or other packaging material costs Rs 30 or even Rs 50 which common people can’t afford and eco-friendly ideology somehow fades away.

So, if we are talking in terms of eco-friendly Ganesha we have to understand what eco-friendly itself means and how even common man promote eco-friendly if the burden of prices is lower down. So that everyone can be a promoter of it. Perhaps with other items, pujaris (Indian temple priests) can offer one sapling/seeds to each devotee. So, they can plant in their homes. It will lead to an increase in biodiversity.

Within ten years. the sapling will be big enough for the home of birds, squirrel, and other living beings. It will support biodiversity and this is what Lord Ganesha teaches us. Worshipping lord in all forms from the idol to tree and respecting all creatures is what we should all work for.

To celebrate this Ganesh Chaturthi, be more eco-friendly, stay healthy, and understand the importance of nature. People should not ignore social distancing norms and other precautionary methods during pandal visits at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.