The most anticipated Indian festival is here, and it’s time to celebrate the welcoming of the God of wisdom – Ganesha. As well all know, Ganesha Chaturthi marks the birth of the elephant-headed God and it celebrated to honour Ganesha. His father, who is one of the Gods from the Hindu Trinity – Lord Shiva, blessed him with an honour of being first worshipped by anybody before beginning any ritual, ceremony or a good deed. Ganesha is often referred to as the ‘God of Beginnings’ then why not we begin a new way to celebrate Ganesha Chaturthi this year?
Must Read: Top 10 Famous Ganpati Pandals Across India to Visit this Ganesh Chaturthi 2023
Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the most important festivals in India that will be celebrated on Wednesday 31st of 2023. It is celebrated with enormous fervor all over the country and with a few simple steps we can make this celebration a lot more environment friendly too. This festival is celebrated by installing and worshipping the idols of Ganesha within households and also on community level through public pandals. The festival commences through street procession of welcoming the Lord and ends with the same street procession accompanied by dancing, singing, and immersion of the idol in a water body, which as referred to as ‘Visarjan’, wherein everybody bid a goodbye to Ganesha and ask him to visit early the next year. There are numerous cultural activities which take place during the 10-day festival.
We have been reading the news regarding the fires in the forests, cutting down of forests in the name of development, floods which have been causing massive destruction, and shortage of water which has been now prevailing for a long time. It’s high time we begin thinking about protecting the environment and there’s no other best time for doing it other than Ganesha Chaturthi.
This Ganesha Chaturthi, let’s pledge that we will celebrate this joyous festival with utmost care, least wastage of resources, and with minimum or no harm to the environment. Everybody loves to decorate the Ganesha’s idol and the surrounding set-up with great zeal and excitement, but the materials which are used to prepare the idol as well as the decorative set-up are somewhere harming the nature, and we ought to something about it.
Here are a few tips which can help us begin an eco-friendly way of celebrating Ganesha Chaturthi.
#1. Say no to PoP (Plaster of Paris), plastic, thermocol, etc.
So, Government of India’s Union Minister Prakash Javadedkar has already banned Ganesh idols which are made of PoP (Plaster of Paris).
गणेश मूर्ति के लिए plaster of paris पर पाबन्दी का निर्णय १ साल के लिए स्थगित कर दिया गया है। इससे इस साल जिनकी मूर्तियां बनी है उनको नुकसान नहीं होगा।@PIB_India @PIBMumbai @DDNewsHindi
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) May 22, 2020
Instead of opting for an idol made out of such hazardous material, one can select idols made out of paper pulp, unbaked clay, coconut, etc. It is also recommended that poster colours should be used rather than synthetic colours as their toxicity level is lower. So, say no to plaster of paris Ganesh idols to save our environment + support the government’s initiative.
Related article: 1 year stay on ban on Ganesh idols made of Plaster of Paris
#2. Try to decorate using eco-friendly materials
Using cloth, wood, paper and flowers would be ideal as they do not harm the environment. Try using the least electricity, use energy efficient bulbs and lights to save electricity and play shlokas and mantras instead of loud songs to maintain positivity and not cause noise pollution.
#3. Create artificial tanks and compost pits
The usual activity of immersion of the idol in a natural water body like a river, lake or a pond pollutes the water and also harms the creatures living in it. We should choose an artificial tank for immersion; the immersion can also be done in a bucket of water at home itself. The after collections of the festivals, which is referred to as Nirmalaya can be used for fertilising your garden, create a compost pit and dump all of it to avail compost material.
#4. Reduce the Number of Pandals
Instead of wasting natural resources and financial resources by hosting a number of smaller independent pujas, it is better to construct one grand pandal for a large community. In this way noise pollution, water pollution and electricity consumption can all be limited while also ensuring an enjoyable celebration.
#5. Use Recyclable Decorations
Natural decorations like fresh flowers, paper decorations and cloth fabrics add a unique charm to the idols and puja pandals while also being completely biodegradable. For a replacement of non-biodegradable materials like thermocol, recycled newspapers and papier mâché can also be used.
#6. Symbolic Immersions
As we have discussed above idol immersions are one of the most important causes of environmental pollution associated with Ganesh Chaturthi. In order to avoid to this problem eco-friendly Ganesh Chaturthi idols are being encouraged. But if for some reason an eco-friendly Ganpati idol could not be arranged then the community can also make a decision to have a symbolic immersion of the idol. Instead of immersing the actual Ganesh Murti in the water, some symbolic sacred item can be immersed. In some cases, idols are often symbolically immersed in small buckets as well.
But even if the idol has to be immersed in water it can only be submerged for a few minutes and then taken out of the water to reduce mixing of harmful materials into the water.
In some cases organizers even go so far as to create a small artificial tank to immerse idols. This protects the aquatic creatures that live in natural water bodies like rivers and lakes. But this method is also not highly recommended because it still leads to a lot of water wastage and pollution.
#7. Follow the Principle of 3Rs
The 3Rs of environmental conservation are reduce, reuse and recycle and this principle can be utilized for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations as well to reduce the amount of harmful waste generated from the festival. The reuse and recycle plan can be implemented with an eco-friendly Ganesh ji, in case of building the pandal and the decorations. Puja organizers should also try to reduce electricity and water wastage during the days of the festivals. The waste produced from the puja celebrations can also be recycled to produce more useful materials.
#8. Composting –
Recycling waste from the pujas brings us to composting. Lots of fresh flowers and food items are used during the puja. These items often go to waste once the festival is over. Instead organizers can put together a simple composting pit where all the organic waste from the puja can be dumped to produce compost or manure. This manure is very good for the soil and can be used for gardening or farming purposes. If some fresh flowers absolutely have to be immersed in water for religious purposes then it is imperative to ensure that the immersion is done in a bio-degradable paper bag and not a non-biodegradable polythene packet.
With rising awareness within the community, one can even purchase eco-friendly Ganesha online as well. An eco-friendly Ganesha idol and some basic environment consciousness while organizing the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations can go a long way in reducing the pollution and negative environment impact caused by this massive Indian festival. With such immense importance being laid on eco-friendly Ganesha idols, we too must do our bit to save the planet Earth.
Celebrate and enjoy this wonderful festival, do not harm the environment. Come together for saving the nature, do your bit and encourage people to do their bit. Happy Ganesha Chaturthi!
Read more: Ganesha Chaturthi In Goa – The Celebration Of Good Beginnings
Interesting read! Thank you for sharing such tips. Very useful in such times. We all should take this approach to save our environment and celebrate Eco-Friendly Ganesh chaturthi!