Here is some good news. The sale of eco-friendly Ganpati idols in the city has seen a three-fold increase this year,with many distributors even running out of stock. This time in Pune the response was amazing. We sold out all the eco-friendly idols and were unable to meet the increasing demand. Compared with last year,there is a three-fold increase in the sales. While we had nine distributors in the city,many more had approached us for getting the distributorship. Next year,we plan to increase the network, said Lolita Gupta,member of Eco-exist,the city-based enterprise that makes eco-friendly Ganesh idols. She said this year they sold 830 idols compared to last years 230. This spurt in the demand is attributed to the increased awareness among people about the eco-friendly Ganesh idols. The main reason of the rise in the sales is the increase in the awareness level. Other than Pune,we also supply the Ganesh idols to Mumbai,Goa,Bangalore and Hyderabad. The idols are made from the natural clay and instead of paint we use natural pigments. We use turmeric,multani mitti and geru for making the idols, said Gupta. Rajendra Shinde,who sells Ganesh idols in the Peth area,said he ran out of stock of eco-friendly Ganpatis. We have to place prior orders for eco-friendly Ganesh idols. Also,since they made out of the clay they are more fragile and we have to take extra care while shifting them. Seeing the response this year,next year we are planning to get more eco-friendly idols, said Shinde,adding that he had more people asking for such idols this year. Not only individuals but many mandals also preferred eco-friendly idols this time. We used idols that are eco-frendly so that during the immersion it wont cause any harm to the river. The only problem being faced by the devotees now is the availability of the eco-friendly idols in the market, said Ajay Burate of Siddhi Vinayak Mitra Mandal in FC Road. The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) had requested all Ganesh mandals to use eco-friendly Ganesh idols. Following directives from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB),the local bodies were also asked to implement the guidelines on the ground level.
