JOIN USThis is what Lord Ganesha seems to be saying, according to Department of Environmental Science, Bangalore University.
As part of its awareness programme, the Department has listed environment hazards resulting from the immersion of idols made out of harmful material. It has pointed out that immersion of Ganesha idols made from plaster of Paris pollute water bodies beyond repair.
Plaster of Paris is not a natural component.
It is made out of a chemical combination (calcium sulphate hemihydrate). This chemical combination increases the acid content in the water. The total dissolved solids increase by 100 per cent and the dissolved oxygen content increases during the day, due to agitation in water. Besides, heavy metal content sampling showed nearly 10 times increase of metals like iron and the content of copper in the sediments increased by 200 to 300 per cent, harming water animals.
Such idols take several months to dissolve and in the process, poison water bodies like lake, ponds, rivers, etc.
Also, material like bamboo, jute, colours, painted cloth, incense sticks, camphor, etc are released in the water during immersions, leading to water contamination.