NEW DELHI, INDIA, August 25, 2006: During the annual Ganesha Chaturthi festival, celebrated across India this Sunday, thousands of statues – some measuring 25ft (7.6m) – are immersed in the sea, lakes and rivers after daily prayers at temples and colorful processions through the streets. Environmentalists say that the plaster of Paris which in recent years has replaced the natural clay traditionally used, is causing serious water pollution. Beaches and lake shores are littered with debris for weeks, while chemicals from paints leach into the drinking water and kill many fish. The Kalpavriksh Environment Action Group has started a “safe festivals” campaign to encourage worshippers to revert to unbaked clay, which dissolves in water, and paint their Deities with natural colors such as turmeric and red earth instead of chemical dyes. “Traditionally, simple Deities were made of earth and returned to the earth but over the years the craft of Deity-making has reached a big scale,” Manisha Gutman, the campaign leader, said. “One wants to keep the craft alive but we have to think of nature.” The Indian Central Pollution Control Board has also warned festival-goers not to use plaster of Paris, and local organizers were asked to commission smaller Deities to limit the damage. The National Green Corps launched a campaign this month to dissuade people from using artificial material. The message is not, however, getting through. Deities sculpted from natural clay, which is heavier and more expensive than plastic, are rare outside artisan communities. Most are mass-produced from moulds to keep up with the demand.
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