Hyderabad: Eco-friendly cow dung Ganesh idols are here!

Hyderabad: With Ganesh Chaturthi just around the corner, many idol makers and also various city-based NGOs have come up with unique and eco-friendly cow dung Ganesh idols. Also, keeping in the mind of current pandemic, people have become more conscious towards the environment and this has resulted in huge demand for eco-friendly idols, as these idols would benefit the environment as they can be dissolved in water or be used as fertilisers.

"This year our NGO is making Ganesh idols using cow dung to support the small-scale handicraft artists and Goshalas. Not only that, these idols can be dissolved in small amount of water and can also be used as fertilisers at the time of visarjan (immersion), so one need not go to a river. This is a concept began by various idol makers in Pune, in 2018, but the demand has increased in other States, especially in Hyderabad this year," said Dr Padma, professor at Vanita College and founder of Murlidhara Godhamam.

"This year people are buying cow dung idols more than clay idols. Also, these are cheaper than the clay idols. In addition to the cow dung base, fragrant substance like tulsi leaves, turmeric is mixed with the dung base. The prices of idols range from Rs 50 to Rs 500 based on the size," said Kailash Singh, idol maker, Dhoolpet.

"Several centuries ago, Ganapati idols made out of cow dung were quite common. Now we have tried to revive this custom and our main motto behind making these idols is to prevent water pollution, in addition to providing other environment benefits such as creating manure for plants after the immersion.

Many self-help group women are helping us to make these idols," said Surya Kala, founder of Mana Ooru Mana Bhadhyatha.