The pandemic has taught us that, more than anything else, we need the blessing of a healthy climate and environment to grow and prosper. The country is celebrating Ganesh Utsav, one of the most anticipated festivals, while health concerns continue to rise and the COVID-19 outbreak is kept under control. But, having learned from our traumatic experiences and awful encounters during the pandemic, now is an excellent moment to enjoy our festivals, worship our deity, and contribute to the environment in whatever way we can.
Vivid, melodic, and exuberant celebrations additionally leave behind extreme ecological dangers that require days to clear up. The festival is celebrated by act of welcoming the Elephant-headed God idols to homes on Ganesh Chaturthi, trailed by the Visarjan or immersing of the Ganesh idols, ten days later. The Visarjan is symbolic of the fact that nothing lasts in this mortal world, this leaves an indelible mark on the bodies of water in which the idols are plunged. The negative environmental impacts of idol immersion on water bodies and the ecology of surrounding places are deteriorating at an alarming rate with each passing season.
This may sound odd, but it is actually possible to celebrate the festival with all its zeal and without harming the environment. Each one of us can take small yet effective measures to ensure we welcome Lord Ganesh into a clean, green and minimal waste environment.
Before the idol is brought home, the decorations are ought to be in place. People tend to use enormous amounts of plastics and non-biodegradable items as decor for the puja, as a part of the celebrations. Even the disposable plates used for giving out prashad contributes to the heaps of waste at landfills.
DIY decorations are a simple alternative and environmentally friendly. So, instead of using the typical frills and balloons to decorate, why not make something yourself? Flowers of various colours provide a splash of vibrance to your home design. They bring a festive feel to your home and may be arranged in a variety of ways for a unique aesthetic. You can use floral torans around the idol and it’s feet. At the entrance to your home, a rangoli can be made with various coloured flower petals.
During Ganesh Utsav, the lights are the most essential aspect of the decoration. You can use candles, lamps and diyas to light up your home by placing them around the chowki or home shrine. Using fairy light strings to decorate the puja area will brighten your decor. The area will become livelier with the addition of colourful lighting.
Incorporating bio-degradable items in decorations will not only have you produce minimum waste but will also challenge your creativity. Utilizing materials such as jute, traditional earthen pots, colourful dupattas and sarees for the backdrop, shells, recycled glass, pretty plant pots etc, will definitely give an exhilarating and refreshing feel to the ambience.
Most importantly, shifting to clay or mud idols that dissolve almost immediately is not harmful to waterbodies. In contrast, the massive Ganesh idols made from PoP, that are immersed in surrounding water bodies clog them and release toxins into the water. These idols take several months to completely disintegrate into water, thereby producing harmful chemicals into the water body. In recent years, there has been a rise in public awareness regarding water pollution caused by the immersion of Ganesh idols composed of calcium sulphate hemihydrate, in lakes, rivers, and the sea. As a sustainable and reusable alternative, a permanent idol made of metals such as copper or brass can be utilized. Natural clay idols that are used at home can be immersed in a bucket of water for many hours to completely dissolve and the water can be later poured into plants to enrich the soil, replenishing it with nutrients. Moreover, immersing a ‘Betel Nut’ in water, is symbolic of Lord Ganesh. This way, the same idol can be reused year after year.
Along with Ganesh idols, people discard other items such as thermocol, plastics, and so on. Flowers, fruits, coconuts, incense, camphor, fabric, plastic, thermocol, and other items are utilised in Lord Ganesh worship in addition to idols. Annually, the government spends crores of rupees to clean and remove tonnes of waste from natural water sources like as rivers, lakes, and other water bodies. Instead of immersing the idol in water bodies, the government should consider creating water tanks for immersion.
Furthermore, the colours used to decorate idols contain hazardous compounds like as mercury and lead, which leach into the water as the idol degrades. It increases the acidity, total dissolved solids (TDS), and heavy metal concentration of water. It kills aquatic vegetation and marine animals, wreaking havoc on the marine life.
Ganesh Utsav will return next year, but the damage inflicted on the environment will stay around for hundreds of years to come. Knowing the hazards caused by the auspicious festival, each one of us can take the above mentioned simple yet effective steps and bring about a change for the better.
Written by, Aastha Khera
