Eco-friendly idols ensure pollution-free Dashami

NEW DELHI - From paper mache and natural dyes to arrowroot and terracotta, most of the capital’s Durga Puja committees used bio-degradable material for their Durga idols so that the Yamuna and other waterbodies were not choked after their immersion Sunday.

Dashami, the last day of the puja, sees hundreds of clay idols of the goddess and her children being immersed. Hundreds of puja organisers from the capital and adjoining areas immerse their idols on this day.

“We ensured that the materials used in the idols were bio-degradable and dissolve easily,” Deepayan Mazumdar, a member of Delhi Durga Puja Samiti in Kashmere Gate, told IANS.

The clay idols, after their immersion, were taken out of the river and placed at an earmarked place at Kalindi Kunj, at the bank of the river. The non bio-degradable materials were fished out and sold.

“We try to adhere to the tradition and at the same time, keep the Yamuna clean,” said Samrat Bannerjee, a member of the puja committee at Greater Kailash-II.

Even the nearly 200 kilograms of flowers used in the worship are not dumped in the river, unlike a decade ago, when tonnes of flowers would float down the river after the immersion.

Durga Puja, the five-day autumn festival beginning with Shashti and ending with Dashami, is celebrated with much fanfare in the capital, where elaborate marquees are set up and idols of the goddess and her four children are worshipped.