Small Act – Eco Friendly Idols in Surat

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Put your heart, mind, intellect, and soul even into your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.

Swami Sivananda

This year Surtis have been motivated to install only eco-friendly Idols of Ganeshas

Every year, about 25,000 idols of lord Ganesha and other deities are immersed in Surat's Tapi river. Most of them made of Plaster of Paris and painted with hazardous chemicals leave the river polluted and dirty.

But that's set to change. Following a Gujarat High Court order, the Surat police is cracking down on idol makers. As many as 6000 idols have been seized and six people arrested. From now on, only idols made from mud or clay will be allowed to be immersed in the river.

Prayas an NGO in Surat has been a major driving force behind this move.  These small acts by Surits will only be beneficial to them. They can look forward to a less polluted Tapti river, which in turn will attract tourists to Surat.

Surat Police Commissioner, using power under section 144 of CrPC, had issued a notification on May 21, restricting the use of clay and POP in making idols of Lord Ganesha and other gods and goddesses in the city and made it a punishable offence.
The notification was aimed at bringing down the level of water pollution, as clay and POP idols are immersed in rivers and water bodies during festivals.

The above order was challenged by local artisans stating that their livelihoods were at stake.

The High Court after hearing the arguments opined that the Surat’s Police Commissioner’s Order restricting the use of clay and POP in making Idols of Lord Ganesha and other Gods was in the public interest only.

This High Court backing enabled the environment lovers to convince Surtis to move to eco-friendly Idols.

Yes, as is the norm, in the short run, this will be difficult, but in the long run, I am sure there will be enough innovations in the making of mud/clay Idols and the artisans will be happy.

By the way, Surtis are the folks who reside in Surat