Eco-friendly Ganesha idols to dot city

SAVE to sell clay idols at Mana Gramam store at Penamaluru. They are using dry grass, coir ropes, bamboo sticks and clay brought in from the banks of River Ganga in Kolkata.

Society for Awareness and Vision on Enviroment president M. Vijayaram Kumar with the clay Ganesha idols at his workshop on Tuesday. —Photo: V. Raju

Eco-friendly Ganesha idols will be part of the myriad manifestations of the Elephant God during the 11-day-long Vinayaka Chaviti celebrations scheduled to start from September 17.

For the first time, Society for Awareness and Vision on Environment (SAVE), a Hyderabad-based organisation which has launched its local chapter, is coming up with these idols as part of its effort to protect the environment. As many as 300 idols with a size ranging between seven and three feet high are ready for sale at Mana Gramam store at Penamaluru on city suburbs. The organisation has roped in 20 artisans from Kolkata to make the idols.

Using dry grass, coir ropes, bamboo sticks and clay brought in from the banks of River Ganga in Kolkata, the artisans have made elegant idols to draw the attention of devotees.

“Festivals in our country are linked to environment and nature. Idols made with Plaster of Paris (PoP) and synthetic colours contaminate water in rivers and other water bodies after immersion. It is advisable to use clay in making idols to save the environment,” says SAVE president M. Vijayaram Kumar.

The main objective is to educate people on the ill-affects of using Ganesh idols crafted with PoP, he says, adding: “Buyers will get a free khadi dhoti and an upper garment ( khanduva ) besides CDs explaining the importance of the festival.”

Mr. Kumar claims that he has been supplying clay idols for the last 10 years to devotees in Hyderabad. For the first time, he has decided to sell them in Vijayawada. “We pay a monthly salary of Rs.3,200 to each artisan and an additional amount of Rs.1,000 for sale of one idol towards commission,” he explains, requesting the government to undertake a campaign to educate people on use of clay idols.

On Tuesday, senior IAS officer Adusumilli Venkata Rajamouli visited the workshop and appreciated the artisans’ efforts. “We plan to start a campaign in educational institutions to stress the need for use of eco-friendly Ganesh idols during the festival,” he said, adding that these idols would be easy to carry to pandals because of less weight.