Festivals and Pollution

Today’s world pollution is a big concern and it poses serious threat to the human health and environment. With unprecedented expansion in population, the pollution in India has sky rocketed. The pollution in India shoots up abruptly due to various factors and the pollution due to festivals is also one among them.

The practice of immersion of Ganesh idols after the Ganesh festival in various cities is causing severe water pollution which leads to the death of tonnes of fish and many aquatic creatures. Gone are the days when the idols are made with clay, nowadays idols are made with Plaster Of Paris and chemical dyes.

The repeated cautions and warnings of ecologists and environmental scientists towards the possible hazards inflicted by the Plaster Of Paris are falling into the deaf ears of the idol makers and buyers. According to scientists, Plaster Of Paris does not get dissolved or disintegrated fast. Moreover, the chemical dyes and colours being used to colour the idols contain poisonous elements. Particularly, Red, Blue, Orange and Green colours contain Mercury, Zinc oxide, Chromium and Lead, the potential causes of developing cancer.

According to one estimate, 7500 idols of Ganesh are weighing about 20,000 kg or in other words, 20 tons. The sea-shore of Mumbai absorbs the immersion of about 1.5 lakh idols every year. The very calculation of the accumulation of clay, Plaster Of Paris, dangerous Chemicals from the paints and colours will shatter the thinking faculty of any brain.

The immersion of Durga Statutes during the Durga pooja is also a cause of concern for environmentalists. In Orissa alone 5,000 Durga pooja idols are made, most of them using harmful paints.

Heavy metals like lead and chrome are not easily assimilated in an aquatic environment and can lead to the massive hurt of flora and fauna of the river, pond, lake and coastal areas. As the same river, pond and lake water is used for bathing and drinking purpose high levels of lead can damage the heart, kidneys, liver, circulatory system and central nervous system, the environmentalist warned.

As Ganesh festival and Durga pooja is troubling the aquatic creatures largely, Holi, a festival of vibrant hues that brings with it a variety of colours is harmful to human beings. The seemingly harmless, “pleasing to eye” colours are synthetic and toxic because of the presence of cheap materials like mica, acids, alkalis, pieces of glass, which not only induce skin disorders like abrasion, irritation, itching but can impair vision, cause respiratory problems and also cancer.

Diwali, one of the important festivals in India has the distinction of polluting the environment to the core. Newborns and aged people have a nightmarish experience because of the high levels of sound caused by crackers during Diwali. Noise pollution on Diwali is between 69.7 db and 88.3 db which are higher than the prescribed limit of 50 db. The decibel levels alarmingly high in metros and it may reach up to 100 db.

Crackers are sometimes manufactured using barium sulphate, sodium nitrate, sulphur and potassium chlorate and when burnt, emit gases such as sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, oxides of heavy metals and particulate matter that pollute the air and cause eye irritation, respiratory disorders and allergies.

The government, police, pollution control boards are suggesting many alternative ways to celebrate festivals which does not pollute the environment. Even strict and stringent warnings are also given to public to refrain from bursting crackers such as atom bombs, hydrogen bombs, bullet bombs, thousand and ten thousand wallas. But it is all solely depend on the “change of mind”.