This innovation has been created by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) with the help of National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) and Cummins India Ltd.
This year, Ganpati idols made up of Plaster of Paris (PoP) too can be eco-friendly. One can buy the PoP Ganpati idols of their choice and immerse it to make fertilizer and cement out of it.
This innovation has been created by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) with the help of National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) and Cummins India Ltd.
Talking about how a PoP idol can be eco-friendly, Shubhangi Umbarkar, senior scientist, NCL, explains the process: "One needs to take a container/bucket in which the idol can be immersed in, fill it with water and add ammonium bicarbonate powder which is the same measure as the weight of the idol. Later, mix the mixture and immerse the idol in the solution. After every three hours stir the water. The PoP idol will dissolve in approximately 48 hours."
"After the idol is dissolved, the base layer is filled with calcium carbonate which can be used as cement and to make chalk. While the upper layer of water contains ammonium sulphate which is a fertilizer and can be used to water plants," he added.
PMC is trying to create awareness about this initiative through social media. "We are forwarding the videos on WhatsApp so that many people become aware about this initiative. The NCL students have also volunteered to go to various schools to demonstrate the experiment to the school students."
The idol-makers are happy with this solution innovated by these organisations. Ramesh Rawle, idol-maker in Lalbaug, said, "Using this method will help to make water bodies pollution free. They should create more awareness about this solution so that other people can follow the experiment and make PoP eco-friendly too."
While BMC officials are reacting positively to this initiative, Anand Wagralkar, BMC's Deputy Municipal Commissioner, said, "Every year, over all 2.17 lakh idols are immersed in the city. We have heard about the initiative and next year, we will be talking with the PMC about the success rate of the project. We need to check the experiment before taking it up in our city."
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