Sagar(Madhya Pradesh): A devotee from Madhya Pradesh's Sagar made a Lord Ganesh idol from dried plums to save the environment from pollution. The 71-year-old Ashok Sahu of Bina town of the district created the six-foot-high Ganesh idol from 50 kg of dried berries. Ashok was born on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi. Due to immense devotion towards Lord Ganesh since childhood, Ashok Sahu gradually learned to make Ganesh idols and in 1984 he made an idol of Lord Ganesha for the first time. To save water from getting polluted, Ashok started making idols with edible products, which could provide food to aquatics.
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He has been preparing idols for the past 36 years and in 1984, he prepared the first Ganesh idol from pulses. This year, Ashok made an idol from dried plums, which took him around two months to complete the work. Earlier, he had made idols from peanuts, namkeen, boondi, pulses and other edible things.
Speaking to the media, Ashok said, "I only use edible products in idols which is helpful for the environment. This idol is made from dried plums and the crown is made from plum seeds, which will not pollute the water and will be beneficial for the aquatics. "When the idol is immersed in a river or pond, it completely merges with nature and provides food to aquatics," he said. The idol has been installed in the temple of Sahu Samaj located at the Sarvodaya intersection.
