Laxmi Nagar set to go eco-friendly this Ganesh Chaturthi

Locals to worship idols with seeds, immerse them in tubs instead of the Yamuna

New Delhi : Eco-friendly Ganesha idols with plant seeds - Clay Ganesha idols with seeds at Shree Ganesh Seva Mandal, Laxmi Nagar-Swastha Vihar, in New Delhi. (Eco-friendly Ganesha idols with plant seeds in them, one can place the idol in a pot with soil at the end of the festival, Water it and the idol begins to dissolve). Save the environment, a Mumbai-based artist who has come up with an innovative idea of moulding a Ganesh idol with natural soil that transforms itself into a tree. There is no immersion of the idol in a water body but water is poured over the idol. Once the Ganesh idol dissolves, the seeds sprout and plants start to grow. Thursday. Aug 24, 2017. 
Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

Delhiites celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi at the Shri Ganesh Sewa Mandal, an association in east Delhi’s Laxmi Nagar, will be participating in an eco-friendly initiative as the idol they are worshipping has been implanted with seeds and will be immersed in water tubs instead of the Yamuna. The organisers have said they hope the seeds will turn the tubs into tiny gardens over time.

Spreading awareness

Organisers shared that there will be two Ganpati idols — an eight-inch-tall idol made of jute and the other measuring 32 inches, which has seeds inside it. Founder-president of Shri Ganesh Sewa Mandal, Mahendra Ladda, says, “Every year, we plan to do something to spread awareness among people. Last year, we made a fiber idol, this year we have implanted seeds within the idol.”

“We have used eco-friendly colours, and said a no to metallic colours. Not only the organisers but also around 1.5 lakh people who come with their own idols to take part in the festivities have been requested to use only eco-friendly idols,” Mr. Ladda added.

To add to the festivities Avartan, a band from Pune, has been called to welcome Lord Ganesh, said the organisers. They said that the speciality of this band was that its members comprised professionals from the fields of engineering, medicine, and the Indian Administrative Services.

NGT ban

The shobha yatra will begin from Maharaja Banquet Laxmi Nagar at 4.30 p.m. and will reach DDA mini-stadium near SDM office at 7.30 p.m. where it will be immersed in water tubs outside the pandal. Apart from pollution, the association is also trying to avoid the heavy traffic between Vikas Marg and ITO.

In 2015, the National Green Tribunal banned immersion of idols made from non-biodegradable materials like quick-setting gypsum plaster, also known as Plaster of Paris, or plastic in the Yamuna. Following the order, the Delhi government has proposed the construction of ghats for such festivities across the Capital and allocated ₹20 crore for the purpose in the financial year 2017-18.

The government has decided to enhance the scope of the Delhi Development Rural Board to include both rural and urban villages with the proposed outlay of the board increased to ₹600 crore in 2017-18 from the earlier outlay of ₹132 crore.