BHUBANESWAR: The state capital is gearing up for a grand and green celebration of Ganesh Puja this year with gigantic, eco-friendly idols of Lord Ganesh set to become the centre of attraction in many pandals across the city.
This year, the Lord Of Wisdom will be worshipped in over 340 pandals of the city from Wednesday. However, a 61-feet-tall idol of Bappa, believed to be the tallest, at Badagada locality and another 46-feet-tall idol of the Lord at Saheed Nagar are set to steal the limelight during the festival.
Rakesh Mohanty, a member of the Badagada Brightstar Youth Association, said artists have been busy working to build the 61-feet idol of Lord Ganesh since the last one month. “Created with eco-friendly materials, the idol will have two large silver feet. The Mooshika (mouse), the Lord’s vehicle, will also be made of silver,” he added.
Members of the Winner Association in Saheed Nagar also said that they have kept their celebrations eco-friendly and have not used any chemical colour in the idol-making. The club will also be organising cultural evenings and ‘Prasad Sevan’ during the festival.
Meanwhile, aiming to give a tribal touch to their pandal, members of the Sahid Club at Saheed Nagar said they are using eco-friendly materials like bamboo and palm leaves. “The celebration will be a blend of tradition and sustainability. The initiative aims to inspire devotees to celebrate responsibly while preserving the environment,” said assistant secretary of the club Ashique Panda.
On the other hand, to ensure a smooth and peaceful celebration and prevent noise pollution during the festival, the Commissionerate Police convened a coordination meeting with all stakeholders on the day, and issued guidelines including restriction on use of DJ and vibrators during the immersion processions to keep the sound level within the admissible limit.
DCP Jagmohan Meena said pandals have also been restricted from using unsafe light decoration among other measures. The BMC asked pandals to avoid single-use plastic.