With Ganesh Chaturthi right around the corner, Pune prepares for its most anticipated and patronized festival of the year. This also means that it’s time for the sales of Ganesh Idols which number around 4.5 lakhs every year. When these mass-produced idols are immersed in water bodies on the final day of the festival, they not only pollute them but also damage the ecosystem.
To tackle these, Surendra Pathare Foundation, an NGO based in Kharadi, Pune rose up to the challenge. Known for its countless environmental acts with rigorous work for the upliftment of society and its recent achievement of carrying out the biggest vaccination drive in Kharadi, the NGO organized an idol-making workshop for children of all backgrounds.
The goal of this workshop was 2 fold. The first being the creation of eco-friendly Ganesh idols for a sustainable celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi. The second and more significant purpose being bringing together children of several communities and backgrounds to provide them an unbiased and impartial environment to build as well as grow together as equals. When asked about the reason behind this event, Mr. Surendra Pathare, the founder of the NGO said, “ We have commercialized and forgotten the true essence of the festival where it used to bring people to side by side with others under the same umbrella to build a fair and just community..”
Their goal to emphasize the importance of an eco-friendly celebration and shed light on the significance of the unification of people for the betterment of society was very well received as several children participated and successfully created eco-friendly Ganesh idols.
