Once again, Mumbai's Ganesh mandals asked to limit height of idols to 18 ft

The association for Ganesh mandals in the city, Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti (BSGSS) has appealed to all mandals not to create the idols taller than 18 feet for the upcoming Ganesh festival.

Since most mandals have limited manpower, carrying the heavy idols for immersion can prove to be dangerous. File pic

The request has been made to avoid accidents while carrying the towering idols. BSGSS has also asked the government to provide clay for carving the idol to ensure that the festival is celebrated in an environmental friendly manner.

The 31-year-old association, representing close to 1,400 mandals in Mumbai, had decided last year that the height of Ganesh idols should not be more than 18 feet from the ground.

However, very few mandals complied. The president of BSGSS, Naresh Dahibavkar, put forth the association's request again, during a meeting held in earlier in June. He has also requested the mandals to opt for clay instead of Plaster of Paris to make the Ganesh idols.

"Every year, around 1.8 lakh idols are carved. If they are all made of clay, we can avoid water pollution. We have also decided to limit the height of idols to 18 feet. This is to avoid accidents while carrying idols on the roads of the city.

It is not safe to carry such heavy idols when the roads have potholes. Moreover, most committees have limited manpower and carrying the idol for immersion can prove to be fatal. We had appealed to mandals last year as well but many have turned a deaf ear to our request," said Dahibavkar.

As anticipated by the association, very few mandals seem keen to follow their directive this year as well. Swapnil Parab, Secretary of Lalbaug Sarvajanik Ganeshutsav Mandal, said, "Every year we have traditionally carved our idols over 20 feet tall and we don't want to break the custom. People come from all over the state to see the idol and we would follow the same tradition this year as well."