Celebrating Ganeshostav with a social message

King of Girgoan — Nikadwari Ganesh mandal — is one of the popular Sarvajanik Ganesh mandals in the city for its uniqueness which it maintained since the last 89 years.

This mandal always celebrate Ganeshotsav with a social message and this year it is ‘eco-friendly vision.’ The 21-feet tall Ganesh idol of Nikadwari lane is totally made of ecofriendly material like bamboo sticks, mud and hay.

Harshad Desai, the working president of the mandal said this year, said their Ganesh idol is made of shadu mati (mud).

“For the last 89 years, we are only placing eco-friendly Ganesh idol. We do not have themes, since the decoration materials are usually is undisposable. Now that we have entered the 90th year, our message is ‘90 years with the environment’.”

Famed sculptor Rajan Pathankar makes the Nikadwari idol. He is the fourth generation of his family making Nikadwari Ganesh idol.

In Mumbai, most of the mandals prefer to have Ganesh idols made of Plaster of Paris, which is one of the most environmentally damaging material. But this mandal has set an example by rejecting it. Moreover, they used iron rods for setting up of pandal by using lock and key technique on metal plates to avoid digging up roads.

The Nikadwari idol weighs around 4 tonnes. “As the idol is made with shadu at the location itself, unlike other idols brought from the workshops, the base of the idol is made on a trolley so that during immersion, the idol can be pulled out easily by members who are specially trained,” Desai said, adding that they have an insurance of Rs 25 crore for the idol, jewellery and nearby buildings for any eventuality during the festival days.