Ganesha to give green lessons

This festive season, Lord Ganesha will arrive in the city with a mission to teach devotees some eco-friendly lessons.

Banners of the elephant god will appeal to people to minimise noise and water pollution and take steps to create a green planet. Health-centric messages espousing the dangers of tobacco and the benefits of avoiding liquor will also be propagated.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has tied up with the NGO Nirmal Jyot to create these banners. “Illustrations of Lord Ganesha will be put up in Ganesh mandals to spread these social messages. We want people to celebrate the festival bearing environmental concerns in mind.,” said KS Kshirsagar, deputy municipal commissioner and BMC in-charge of the festival.

The 11-day-long festivity normally leads to littering and massive garbage piles in and around Ganesh pandals. This waste eventually enter the water bodies. Moreover, the celebration often exceeds permissible decibel levels. To curb this, a campaign called “Surakshit Utsav, Anandaniya Utsav” with support from the Mumbai Pollution Control Board (MPCB) will be launched, revealed Kshirsagar.

Banners of the deity will be displayed across the city with slogans like “My ears are for your prayers, not noise”, “Minimise using plastic and chemicals for festivities” ,  “Stop using tobacco, take health in your hand.” and “Be eco-friendly this Ganeshotsav, keep the planet green.”

“Lord Ganesh is the giver of wisdom. When people see the deity appealing to them, they will take notice,” said Alka Shah, from Nirmal Jyot. She added that they are looking forward to support from the corporate sector to make the campaign a success.