We always seem to be hit by some kind of waves. Sometimes it's a tsunami or an epidemic like COVID-19. But when the wave is a government appeal, it's not just a wave; it's a ‘Emotional outburst.’ 

One such outburst comes every year at the start of the monsoon season, or whenever the people of Mumbai get flustered and agitated after their city gets waterlogged. The appeals arrive with the wisdom of hindsight, but like justice delayed, this wisdom is of no use. This fever is the "plastic ban" announced by the environment minister of the time. This outburst comes with as much speed as it disappears. The boon of immortality granted to plastic remains, and Mumbai faces a slow death.

The second outburst is the appeal for an eco-friendly Ganesh festival. For the past few years, there have been government-level appeals to create Ganesh idols from clay (Shadu Maati) instead of Plaster of Paris and to immerse them in artificial ponds. People respond well to this every year. But apart from these two things, it doesn't seem like the government has any control over other issues, such as plastic bags, plastic water bottles, gutkha, and the rampant public smoking that has been going on since the ‘Clean up Marshals’   are called off by BMC. All these things happen daily, right before our eyes, but the ‘general public’ is engrossed in the festivities of Ganesha. We don't see the obstacles that is Vighna we ourselves have brought to our doorstep, and yet we pray to Ganesha to irradicate that Vighna. This is our hypocrisy.

Today, people are seen carrying plastic bags full of the fruits and flowers needed daily for the prayers of Gauri-Ganesha. It's funny how they'll bring a big cloth bag for shopping but then stuff all the small plastic bags into that poor cloth bag. After visiting a public Ganesha pandal, they'll even bring the prasad in a plastic bag. Where do these bags go? Into the garbage bins. During these days of Ganesha Festival along with a glimpse of the Vighnaharth Ganesha who removes all the obstacles, you should also take a look with a devotion at the obstacles we've created in these garbage bins.



Not only this, even though the government and the municipal administration have arranged for a Mangala Kalash, or a sacred urn, at every immersion site for people to dispose of offerings, the offerings are still thrown away tied in plastic bags in the same Mangal Kalash. It's the same way other offerings from fasts and rituals are piously thrown into the Dahisar creek or the Mithi river. What kind of a practice is this? Is there no one to stop this, to create awareness? Why aren't government agencies doing anything about this? What kind of eco-friendly 'state festival' is this, heading in the direction of Uttarakhand’s disaster?

By declaring the Ganesh festival, a ‘state festival,’ the government has fulfilled its responsibility and secured a bundle of votes. Now, from their perspective, other things don't matter as much. If these issues bother us, especially all the Ganesha devotees, then we must find a solution ourselves. The government, which puts a superficial ban on plastic bags, cannot stop their production; there are "many" reasons for this. Therefore, we must take this upon ourselves. We can do a simple thing: we can reuse a plastic bag once we get our groceries, and we can reuse it multiple times. Because once plastic enters your life, it can stay with you until your last breath. In short, use these reusable items. Plastic can be easily washed and reused again and again. Let's preserve the one what is immortal.



Instead of arranging for small plastic water bottles, Ganesh mandals (Ganeshotsav organizing committees) can offer water in small cups (pela in Marathi language) from big steel bottles to devotees waiting in line. Devotees can also carry their own water bottles. Along with this, hotels and shopkeepers near Ganesh pandals should arrange for a clean place to refill devotees' water bottles. For all this, help should be sought from students of the NSS (National Service Scheme) from colleges. Their help should be used for line control, traffic control, and water management. I have personally offered this service about 25 years ago at Siddhivinayak, the Mount Mary Fair in Bandra, and Chaityabhoomi on December 6th (Mahaparinirvan Din). This service is also a lesson for these students.

Every problem has a solution. We just have to understand our own responsibility. Instead of praying to God only for our own good, let's work for the good of our surroundings. Then, the evil, which environmentalists are concerned is turning into a monster, will never befall us. So... be careful!

 

-        Vinisha Dhamankar