Mumbai: Paper and plastic power city pandals!

Elphinstone Ganesha Festival organising team crafted an 18-foot-tall Lord Ganesh statue made from paper

From collecting waste plastic bottles at various forts in Maharashtra to constructing elaborate pandals and even crafting an entire paper idol of Lord Ganesh, several mandals have embraced an eco-friendly theme this year.

As part of the 350th anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's coronation, Nikadwari Lane Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal, renowned as Girgaon cha Raja, has undertaken the task of collecting plastic waste, primarily plastic bottles, from various forts across Maharashtra. They plan to employ this collected waste for
pandal decoration.

Waste plastic bottles collected from various forts being used for decor for the Girgaon cha Raja pandal

Ganesh Lingayat, secretary of the mandal, said, "The forts in Maharashtra constitute the true legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's swaraj. It is the responsibility of every citizen of Maharashtra to conserve these historical treasures. Our mandal's volunteers visited the forts that Chhatrapati Maharaj once conquered during his reign and conducted a clean-up campaign. The plastic waste and scrap items collected from this campaign will be utilised for decorating the Ganpati pandal this year. Our theme for this year's Ganesh festival is ‘Let's conserve the forts, the paradise of history.'"

He added, "We plan to take this initiative to new heights by collaborating with various organisations and activists dedicated to the preservation and conservation of these forts."

18-foot paper Ganpati idol

The Elphinstone Ganesha Festival organising committee has achieved a remarkable feat this year by crafting an 18-foot-tall Lord Ganesh statue entirely from environmentally friendly paper, marking a significant departure from the traditional Plaster of Paris (PoP) idols. This eco-friendly approach represents a significant stride in environmental conservation.

Sanket, the president of the Elphinstone Ganesha Festival organising committee, said, "We have been celebrating the Lord Ganesha festival for the past 34 years, and for the last two years, we have been creating these 18 to 19-foot eco-friendly paper idols in line with the organisers of the Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesh Chaturthi festival. It took us three months to prepare these idols, utilising 200 to 250 kg of paper. Over the last three to four years, there has been ongoing discussion about banning PoP idols. Our organising team decided to explore alternative methods for crafting 18-foot idols due to height restrictions on PoP idols. After extensive research, we discovered that it was feasible to create eco-friendly paper idols without compromising on height. Furthermore, these paper idols disintegrate after four hours when submerged in water."

350th
Anniversary of Shivaji's coronation