The Ganeshotsav is one of the grandest events celebrated across India, wherein devotees worship Lord Ganesha in the form of the idols and then the idols are immersed in water. However, one cannot turn a blind eye to the impact this has on the environment.

Most Ganesh Idols are made up of Plaster of Paris [PoP], which is non-biodegradable, and thus, it does not dissolve completely in the water. Moreover, the idols, which had been immersed the day earlier near the seashore are pushed back to the shore on next morning in a disjointed and partly dissolved state.

This is not only an unpleasant sight to the faithful but also the majority of civilians. Thus, in order to retain the festival's sanctity and respect the sentiments, the volunteers of ‘Shree Aniruddha Aadesh Pathak’ along with our sister organisation ‘Aniruddha’s Academy of Disaster Management’ have been undertaking the responsibility of beach cleaning, which has been ongoing for over the past 17 years under the guidance of Dr Aniruddha Dhairyadhar Joshi. 

This beach cleaning drive takes place on the morning after the Visarjan. Our volunteers initiate this drive at 5 am, wherein they re-immerse the idols back into the sea. 

Furthermore, it was this activity that paved the way towards the innovative concept of making Eco-Friendly Ganesh Idols.