As the city glitters in the grand festival of Vinayaka Chavithi, one of the top concerns of nature lovers and environmentalists is the pollution of the city beaches caused as a result of idol immersion. With the cacophony of the festive revelry reaching its pinnacle, some organisations have come together to highlight the cause of environmental pollution and create awareness among the public.
With this aim, Flying Cats and VAY Foundation on Sunday organised a painting competition for school students on the theme ‘Save the Beach’. Hundreds of creative hands presented their impressions of the beaches and the after-effects of the idol immersion. The white canvases were flooded with images of broken idols of Lord Ganesha and the puja paraphernalia. One of the paintings captured the shrinking face of the Earth surrounded with littered beaches. What came out from the paintings was a thoughtful presentation of environmental pollution and ways to prevent it. Nearly 2,000 students from various city schools took part in the event that was conducted in the four centres.
“During the Vinayaka Chavithi festival, the beach is littered with broken idols of Lord Ganesha and puja material, all washed ashore by the waves. It will continue to remain so for the next few days. The idea behind this painting competition was to sensitise the young minds towards the harmful effects of beach pollution,” managing director Flying Cats Prem P. Motha said. The immersion of idols has already begun and will continue for about a week. Even as various organisations conducted campaigns for use of clay idols, Plaster of Paris ones continue to dominate the city mandaps. This results in the destruction of rich marine wealth and polluting the coastal waters, say environmentalists. A visit to the beach a few days after immersion is enough to gauge the amount of pollution.
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