Last time, devotees successfully managed to drown out the civic authorities’ plea for an eco-friendly festival. Though civic officials involved in the mammoth post-festival clean-up operation felt that the quantum of biodegradable debris collected was perceptibly more than in previous years, the non-biodegradable refuse belched back by the sea and debris strewn on the shore told a discouraging story. In Shankar Talao, a small tank in Kandivli thousands of dead fish floated to the surface after the final visarjan, leaving civic workers, to work overtime to clean the pond. One official added that devotees have increasingly been using harmful chemicals in the paints on the Ganesha idols. ‘‘These chemicals greatly deplete the oxygen level in the water, causing the fish to die,’’ he adds.
While another official, blames the increase in the number of idols being immersed. S S Shinde, who was overall in charge of the immersions last year, told Mumabi Newsline that the Nirmalay, or decorations for the idols, included plenty of metal, thermacol and plastic material, which is non-biodegradable. However, he remarks: ‘‘Going by the quantity of Nirmalay collected before the visarjan, it does seem that people have become a little environmentally aware.’’ He explains that the greater the quantum of Nirmalay collected before the visarjan means that much less debris is fed into the sea. ‘‘Though this is just a start, it indicates that people have started recognizing the need for a clean environment’’ he says. Even though some devotees appear to have heeded the eco-awareness drive, the campaign does not appear to have spread uniformly. It is not just Ganesha idols but the many mannequins that accompany him on his last journey and which keep bobbing in the water that give civic workers the runaround. Joining them are huge thermocol decorative pieces that kept floating in the sea. A rationalist body, the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, and other voluntary agencies, have not only launched a public awareness programme among the devotees but has been making arrangement for collecting the idols for an eco- friendly disposal without hurting religious feelings. Unlike in the past when the idols were made of ordinary colors and plain clay which got dissolved in water easily without causing much pollution, nowadays they are made of plaster of paris, distemper, plastic paint, dyes, metallic powders, adhesives, varnish, fluorescent powders and oil paints. The insoluble plaster of paris chokes natural water sources, seeps into lakes and wells. These chemicals harm the eyes, the skin, respiratory systems and have been reported to cause cancer. The samiti pointed out that the pigments used for painting the idols have poisonous and carcinogenic elements like deadly potassium cyanide and oleum. They even use mercury and lead. To make an idol scintillate, a stirring monomer is used in its colors, which are carcinogenic. All these chemicals, thus, cause dangerous water and land pollution. The water-based colours like distemper have CMC (carboxy methyl cellulose) which is very harmful and glueflex, made from animal bones. To dilute nitrocollulos-based paints, the idol-makers use NC thinner which is dangerous, according to the samiti. Only natural dyes and pigments, sourced from vegetables and soils, are absolutely benign but nobody is using them. Some artists use fabric or poster colours which are comparatively better. The harmful dyes and chemicals make even clay idols dangerous for health and environment. Last year, the samiti and its collaborating associations collected over 20,000 idols in 60 villages and towns of the State and disposed them of in a befitting manner. They also collected flowers and other items used in pooja and turned them into natural fertilizer.
And after reading all this, I can only hope, that people somehow realize the harm this festival can do to us(directly/indirectly), and how easy it is to minimize these effects by following some simple guidelines.
(Statistics sourced from news agencies)
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