The God of wisdom and good fortune will soon be here. And while preparations for the ten days when Ganpati bestows his presence on earth have already begun, we ought to be mindful of our surroundings and celebrate the festival, Ganesh Chaturthi, in an eco-friendly way.

A Ganesh Chaturthi celebration in progress

Tanmay Khaitan, member of Parivartan, an NGO says, 'To begin with, we could avoid using Plaster of Paris (PoP) and painted idols which do most of the damage. Instead, clay or shaadu is most suitable for celebration as they do not pollute the 'environment.' He also suggests that in lieu of immersing the idols 'directly into lakes, rivers and seas, we could make use of water tanks constructed by the government, to avoid water pollution.'