Eco-friendly Ganesha: environmentalists think innovative

Seeds of medicinal plants to be added to clay moulds as part of their initiative

Actor and writer Gollapudi Maruthi Rao and founder-president of Paryavarana Margadarsi Vaisakhi S. Vijay Kumar at a programme in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.

With Ganesh Chaturthi a month away, environmental activists initiate steps to spread the green message.

Making a difference in a meaningful way, Paryavarana Margadarsi Vaisakhi (PMV) plans to reach out to schoolchildren through a series of workshops and help them create their own models by adding seeds of medicinal plants in the clay moulds.

At an awareness programme organised on Sunday, film actor and writer Gollapudi Maruthi Rao, who attended the programme as chief guest, pointed out that assorted leaves used for Ganesh puja were scarcely available these days.

“During our childhood days, celebrating Ganesh festival was synonymous with eco-friendly models. In addition to this, we used to get all the 21 varieties of leaves (patri) offered to worship the elephant-headed God. However, with growing urbanisation, the count of medicinal plants is gradually dipping and we are left with no other choice but to make do with just a bunch of leaves available in the market during the festivities,” Mr. Rao lamented.

Thoughtful move

Terming the initiative of adding seeds to the clay moulds as a thoughtful move, Mr. Rao said that the authorities concerned, NGOs and environmental activists should team up to help drive home green messages.

PMV founder-president S. Vijay Kumar said that the NGO was sensitising people on adopting green measures to put an end to environmental issues.

“We have been receiving encouraging response for the eco-friendly sessions for the past one year. This year, the focus is on using colour-free idols, curbing sound pollution at pandals which will be erected in various neighbourhoods and growing medicinal plants by reusing the clay-mould,” he stated. Members of the NGO said that each clay-mould comes with a medicinal plant seed which can be reused for gardening purpose. “Instead of immersing the idols into the sea, these seed-clay models can be dipped in a tub of water after the festival and reused for growing medicinal plants. Moreover, the leaves of these plants will come in handy for worshipping Lord Ganesh next year,” said J. Rajeswari, a member of the NGO.

After conducting a few workshops at SFS School and Andhra University High School, the team will soon visit other schools and educate students on the harmful effects of using Plaster of Paris-coated idols and advocate reusing the model created to grow medicinal plants.