Students in Pimpri-Chinchwad areas perform street plays, go door-to-door to create awareness about eco-friendly festival this year
This year, the streets of Nigdi saw a different sight altogether as students from various schools in Pimpri-Chinchwad area came together to create awareness about eco-friendly Ganeshotsav. They organised street plays in housing societies and crowded areas besides going door-to-door to spread the green message across the twin town.
The students also distributed Tulsi saplings and urged the Ganesh mandals to avoid air and sound pollution during the immersion procession.
A group of 10 students from standard VI to IX of Nigdi-Pradhikaran’s City Pride School chose a street play based on ‘How to save Mother Earth by celebrating eco-friendly Ganesh festival’. They performed the street plays at Nigdi’s Bhakti-Shakti Chowk, Empire Estate Colony at Chinchwad, Sant Tukaram Garden and other places.
School principal Maya Sawant told dna, “We chose the medium of street play as it is more close to the community and the message is conveyed directly and that too for free.”
School teachers Sumita Bhattacharya, Sakina Bootwala and Manjusha Nathe prepared the script.
The Jnana Prabodhini High School in Nigdi organised a lecture for students on Saturday on how to protect environment during the festive season.
Principal Suman Shenoy told dna, “Our students of standards VI and VII will meet the office-bearers of Ganesh mandals and urge them to organise immersion processions in an eco-friendly manner.”
Another school Mata Amrutanandmayi in Yamunanagar, Sector 21, has chosen an innovative way to create green awareness. School teacher Shekhar Kulkarni told dna, “Our students distributed nearly 6,000 Tulsi saplings recently and made environment protection charts and hoardings to create public awareness.”
Appeal to mandals
Dos
Bronze or stone idols of Ganesh are the best solution. Shadu clay idols are also eco-friendly.
Use flowers or any degradable material for the decorations. The tableau can be decorated with flowers, electric lamps, fruits etc. Also, cloth, wood, paper and other natural materials are safe when immersed in water.
Don’ts
Avoid Plaster of Paris (POP) to make Ganesh idols. As POP is lighter and cheaper, it has become the favoured material to mould idols. But it contains hazardous chemicals such as gypsum, sulphur, phosphorus and magnesium.
Avoid use of plastic and thermocol accessories to decorate the idols. Such materials are not biodegradable, hence are toxic.
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