The campaign for promoting eco-friendly Ganesh idols, launched by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) in the run-up to Ganesh Chaturthi, appears to have worked well this year.
The campaign was aimed at discouraging people from buying plaster of Paris idols.
Nearly half the total number of idols immersed on Friday in mobile tanks, deployed by the KSPCB at select locations here, were made of clay.
“We are happy that our campaign helped in educating people on the need for celebrating the festival in an eco-friendly way. We think schoolchildren played a key role in realising our vision and mission,” said Deputy Environment Officer G.R. Ganeshan.
Mr. Ganeshan told The Hindu that this year too three mobile tanks had been arranged to prevent people from immersing the idols in lakes.
On Thursday, the mobile tanks were parked near Metagalli Police Station, near Vikram Hospital at Yadavagiri and near Jayamma Govinde Gowda Kalyana Mantapa at Kuvempunagar from 4 p.m. They moved in the vicinity till 8 p.m. After 8 p.m., the mobile tanks were parked at the entrance of Kukkarahalli lake, Karanji lake and Limgambudi lake. “Idols were immersed at these places till 11.30 p.m.,” he said.
Mr. Ganeshan said 849 idols were immersed in the mobile tanks on Thursday. Of them, 418 were made of clay.
‘Heartening'
“This is very heartening. The numbers indicate that our message has reached people. They have come to know that clay idols are safe. We have made a beginning and are confident of seeing more people celebrating the festival in an eco-friendly manner in the coming years,” he said.
KSPCB authorities said that 3,000 pamphlets with details on eco-friendly celebrations were distributed through a children's welfare organisation. The message was also spread through various media to reach out to more number of people, they said.
On September 5
Mr. Ganeshan said mobile idol immersion tanks would be deployed on September 5 at the same locations from 4 p.m.
