An idol of Lord Ganesha being prepared for the festival
With the 10-day long Ganesh Chaturthi festival beginning on Monday, authorities are trying to promote more eco-friendly celebrations, including popularising clay idols and minimising immersion in water bodies, especially the famous Hussain Sagar Lake.
Considered one of the city's landmarks, the lake is struggling for revival in the face of rampant civic pollution. Authorities are therefore trying to promote small changes in the festival observances to save the water body.
Festivities surrounding the Ganesh festival have grown manifold over the years. According to RP Khajuria, member (environment) of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), this specially pertains to the size of idols and the number of celebrations at various community levels, the two counts on which the authority is now appealing for moderation.
"We have appealed to the public to reduce the size of the Ganesha idol, and immerse these smaller idols at the household level, maybe in a bucket or tub of water, and then use this water for gardening," Khajuria told IANS.
"Additionally, we have also requested people to hold collective celebrations at significant points of the city - instead of doing it at every community level - and then immerse the idols at an artificial pond," he added.
In a bid to encourage people, HMDA has promised to highlight stories of the "heroes" who practise local immersion methods.
To further encourage eco-friendly celebrations, Khajuria said HMDA has also launched a campaign for popularising clay idols.