Ganesh Chaturthi - Environmental Impact

Environmental Impact

The most serious impact of the festival on the environment is due to the immersion of idols made of Plaster of Paris into lakes, rivers and the sea. Traditionally, the idol was sculpted out of mud taken from nearby one’s home. After the festival, it was returned back to the Earth by immersing it in a nearby water body. This cycle was meant to represent the cycle of creation and dissolution in Nature.

However, as the production of Ganesh idols on a commercial basis grew, the earthen or natural clay (shaadu maati in Marathi and banka matti in Telugu) was replaced by Plaster of Paris. Plaster is a man-made material, easier to mould, lighter and less expensive than clay. However, plaster is non-biodegradable, and insoluble in water. Moreover, the chemical paints used to adorn these plaster idols themselves contain heavy metals like mercury and cadmium, causing water pollution. Also, on immersion, non-biodegradable accessories that originally adorned the idol accumulate in the layers of sand on the beach.

Recently there have been new initiatives sponsored by some state governments to produce clay Ganesha idols.

On the final day of the Ganesh festival thousands of plaster idols are immersed into water bodies by devotees. These increase the level of acidity in the water and the content of heavy metals. Several non-governmental and governmental bodies have been addressing this issue. Amongst the solutions proposed are as follows:

• Return to the traditional use of natural clay idols and immerse the icon in a bucket of water at home.
• Use of a permanent icon made of stone and brass, used every year and a symbolic immersion only.
• Recycling of plaster idols to repaint them and use them again the following year.
• Ban on the immersion of plaster idols into lakes, rivers and the sea.
• Creative use of other biodegradable materials such as papier-mâché to create Ganesh idols.
• Encouraging people to immerse the idols in tanks of water rather than in natural water bodies.

To handle religious sentiments sensitively, some temples and spiritual groups have taken up the cause.

Noise pollution is also an unfortunate outcome of this joyous festival.