Overview
- Local governments, media outlets and NGOs ran hands-on workshops on Wednesday to teach students and city youth how to make biodegradable seed Ganesha idols and natural-pigment decorations.
- Officials in Ballari and civic bodies in Mumbai and Panvel urged home immersion of clay idols to prevent lakes and rivers from pollution caused by Plaster of Paris and synthetic paints.
- Seed Ganesha idols are made from natural clay often mixed with cocopeat and coconut fibre and contain native-tree seeds such as neem or tamarind that can germinate after the clay dissolves in soil or a pot.
- Campaigns and celebrities have amplified uptake this week, with Green India Challenge distributing idols and film personalities including Pooja Hegde, Vijay Deverakonda and Chiranjeevi promoting home immersion and sapling care.
- The push builds on longer-running greening drives dating to the 2018 Green India Challenge and Telangana’s Haritha Haram and could shift ritual immersion into a source of urban sapling growth and reduced water pollution.