Every year for the Ganesh Chathurthi, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation goes through a set of well-meaning but woefully ineffective steps to promote clay idols that might pollute the Hussain Sagar Lake less.
Starting out with collaborations with environmental NGOs, the GHMC starts drives to tell people about how clay idols would lead to a reduction of Plaster of Paris and deadly heavy metal paints leaching into the lake.
It urges sculptors to make clay idols, sellers to sell them and buyers to pay for them.
Finally after the hectic immersion days, it dusts off its dredging equipment and takes out pile after pile of plaster of Paris waste, inevitably leaving quite a spread of it on the lake bed.
This year, possibly having learnt the uselessness of verbal advocacy, the GHMC has put some force to its clay Ganesh campaign.
The idea is simple. The corporation has decided to distribute clay and moulds in schools and to residents welfare associations.
All one has to do is fill the mould with clay or mud, pop it out and wait for it to solidify.
The GHMC has identified 56 schools in the city where children will be taught to make the clay idols with these Do-It-Yourself (DIY) kits.
Environmentally conscious residents can also buy the clay idols or moulds from these schools.
“It is time to rectify our past mistakes and protect the future generation with emphasis on non-harmful chemicals that would protect our environment.
I hope children will take the message with zeal and passion” GHMC commissioner M T Krishna Babu said.
For those who do not want to get their fingers dirty, the GHMC will also provide around 15,000 to 20,000 clay Ganesha idols (over one-and-half feet tall) for free to corporators, who have been told to distribute it in their wards.
The corporation, with the support of the Andhra Pradesh State Pollution Control (APPCB), also organised meetings with Resident Welfare Associations, NGOs and school teachers on promoting clay Ganeshas.
As usual, NGOs are also doing the rounds trying to change the trend.
The Jagruthi Abhyudaya Sangham (JAS) is organising workshops in schools and teaching children how to make clay idols even without the moulds.
Some other NGOs are gearing up to sell these Green Ganeshas at Rs 1.
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