Visarjan-MyTake on this Ritual and Solution to this Problem

Visarjan-a Ritual or a Blind faith destroying mother earth?

After many years of frustration and attempts of persuasion among friends and family, I have reached a dead end where instead of people realizing the lack of resources left on Earth (esp. India ) to sustain more generations, we are hell bend in destroying what we have on the name of old established rituals. This year I was heartbroken to see Powai Lake and other water bodies in such bad shape post the Visarjan that it compelled me to write this article.

The last day when you take your Ganapati or Maa Durga to immerse him/her in the seashore or surrounding Lakes, with a heavy heart, does anyone realize the damage this immersion can cause? Well, I am not simply talking about the disappointment of the parting Ganesh or Maa Durga does to our heartstrings only, but also to the environment in general. I always wonder what the logic behind this Visarjan is and I fail to get answers even from people who are performing Visarjan for last 25 yrs. 
                                                     

I have some basic questions around this holy act of pollution.

1. If God created this earth, how can he be pleased with people who are polluting and destroying their mother earth on the name of performing a ritual ?
2. How can he be pleased by sacrifice of millions of fishes and other creatures ?
3. How can the people be so ignorant to the fact that the same God they prayed for last 10 days is now floating naked and broken on the surface of Water?

It surprises me how religion can turn even the most educated and most logical people to blindly follow something without assessing the negative impacts of their actions. By performing Visarjan you are not only making yourself guilty of nature but in the due course making God to be your accomplice. The reason why God is not showing people the right direction to these people, makes my belief for God even bleaker and I hold him guilty for encouraging such practices. This is our earth and no one through any logic or ritual has the right to destroy it. I am shocked to see environmentalist protesting against Metro Development to save Trees  but the same environmentalist are dancing to the tunes of Bollywood music to see their water bodies get polluted in front of them.

Just Mumbai’s sea takes in about 1.5 lakh (1 lakh = 100,000) idols every year! Is it any wonder then then oxygen levels in the water bodies’ fall by about 50 per cent immediately after the 10-day Ganesha Festival? Unfortunately I don’t have statistics for Durga Puja Visarjan but I have a strong feeling the numbers would be even alarming

How Visarjan was carried out in past?

Through my preliminary research, I learnt that the first idols for this day were made from the wet clay from the local rivers and lakes. The day after Chaturthi & Durga Puja celebrations, these idols were immersed in the same lake. Now, times have changed and so have the styles of preparation. Local clubs and communities started hosting mass pujas to commemorate Ganesh and Durga Puja festival. Not only big communities, but even among residents it is a matter of Pride and Status. Ganapati and Durga Maa often becomes the most clicked on Facebook where people like the photos of the more decorated Idols (Mostly decorated with ornaments or with toxic colours), while the simple Eco-Friendly idols (Made up of Mud with no decoration) remain unpopular on Facebook. Because of this competition and status game, artisans of the recent times make idols using Plaster of Paris and other toxic bright colours, which are very harmful and make the waters toxic and in-consumable for a long time. People convince their conscious  by purchasing Eco-friendly Idols but fail to even understand or check the basic requirements of Eco-Friendly Idols. People who perform Visarjan are not only insensitive towards environment but are extremely sensitive to any logical protests or inhibitions against Visarjan. I am a victim every year of being insensitive to my friends and families for by being vocal against this practice. I wonder how having a logical point of view and caring for nature is a bad thing in this society.

How do these idols harm sea water?

                                    

1. Careless dumping of Ganesh idols in water bodies blocks the natural flow of water. This results in stagnation and breeding of mosquitoes and other harmful pests.
2. The polluted water causes several diseases including skin diseases. 
3. The pollution from Ganesh Chaturthi idols also damages the ecosystem, kills fishes and water plants.
4. In many areas, the same polluted water gets pumped into homes
5. Besides polluting the water, they reach humans via the food chain, when humans consume fish and other sea-food

Things we should do to prevent harm to environment and Mother Nature:

I have tried to convince several people I know and while they agreed with me in theory, none of them actually had the courage to stop this practice. In fact many people told me point blank: When there is a law against it we’ll do it! This even though they clearly see the water bodies around them getting polluted. I don’t believe this is due to religious reasons, but due to apathy and lack of civic sense. After years of little or no impact I have concluded that in India, Rituals are bigger than Logic. Hence , I propose alternatives to perform Visarjan because no matter what happens, even if water bodies are vanished, you cannot convince people against performing their ritual. The problem is that politicians don’t want to take tough action as they are afraid of upsetting the public as this is a religious issue. So without denouncing People’s faith and religious sentiments, I propose below a 5 point plan for streamlining Visarjan process. This has to be converted into strict law made by the state and adhered by all.

1. Government to make it mandatory for Individuals & communities to register Idol Visarjan (Ganapati & Maa Durga) 1 month prior to the Visarjan. Based on the address of the individual or community, they will be given a time slot and location of the artificial Pond where they can perform Visarjan
2. To fund for this Ritual (Which obviously should not be other people’s Tax money), government will charge Individuals a Visarjan Tax which will depend on the size and dimensions of the Idol declared during registration. Bigger size will lead to higher Taxes and this money will be used for creation of artificial lakes and cleaning of wastes post Visarjan. Charges to be made reasonably high so that infrastructure required to facilitate this practice is well built and streamlined
3. Government will publish clear instructions & guidelines on material to be used for Visarjan and will make it a criminal offense to use non Eco-Friendly Idols. Government volunteers will be present to perform the ritual and will follow procedures laid out by Government (For e.g. make sure all the decorations are taken out; which includes thermocols, ornaments, plastic frames, artificial flower garland, ribbons or glittered garlands, and any such decorating items which cannot get dissolved in the water )
4. Individuals will not be allowed Visarjan without displaying the registration card. Any violation in size of the Idol, material, location or time-slot will lead to permanent ban of Visarjan for that Individual or Club.
5. All natural water bodies like Lakes, Oceans & Rivers will be bared for Visarjan and anyone found attempting a Visarjan will be termed Guilty and can be put behind bars.

The above plan highlights the ways we can save our nature and minimize global warming. Since people are so devoted to their God and these communities collect huge sums of money for this ritual, hopefully they won’t mind paying for cleaning and regularizing of this ritual. I feel this should be an acceptable method for Visarjan as it brings a Win-Win situation for people to continue their tradition and at the same time contribute in saving their mother nature.

Now people will accuse me of an impractical plan but I will, starting today pledge to follow up in any forum required to bring this law in practice before next year celebration. I hope I will be supported by many Logical Indians who have the same love and compassion for their mother nature and want to protect it for our future generation.

P.S. For all those who are more logical and are ready to give up their stubbornness for this ritual, I propose these alternatives:

1. Use permanent idols made of stone and perform a symbolic immersion and reuse the idol each year.
2. Avoid public water bodies to immerse the idols, instead immerse idol in bucket or tub (This is what my mother used to follow and I was so proud of her for this )
 I do not intend to hurt religious sentiments of any community or person. This is my personal view and I strongly believe we need to respect nature and adjust our rituals as the time demands