Belagavi: It is common, if inane, to burst a few crackers during the immersion of Ganesha idols, but what do you think about bursting crackers worth Rs 2 crore while immersing an idol?! Mindless? Mind-numbing?
That’s what the ‘devotees’ of the god plan to do in Sankeshwar, where the Neelgar family sponsors a Ganesha celebration every year. Thousands of people witness this spectacle every year. Last year, one of the organisers said, people had burst some Rs 1.5 crore worth of crackers.
The city’s environmentalists are, of course, not happy. Citizens Forum, a local organisation, has taken up the issue, urging the local administration to prevent such a lot of crackers being burst, given the pollution it would cause in the small town.
Officials of Hukkeri taluk have decided to hold a meeting on October 5 to discuss their objections and lay down rules, such as earmarking a particular place where the organisers of the Ganesha celebration can burst crackers, rather than all along the route of the immersion procession.
Several organisations are also working hard to create awareness among people about the noise and air pollution that fire crackers cause.
The Neelgar family house near Gandhi Chowk in Sankeshwar has been the site of installation of the town’s most famous Ganesha idol for decades. Since the 1990s, it has attracted lakhs of people from across the state as well as Goa and Maharashtra. People stand in long queues for the god's darshan in the belief that the Neelgar Ganesha would fulfil all their wishes.
Are the people of Sankeshwar ignorant of the ill-effects of the extravaganza? Or are they hostage to a self-serving group of people who couldn’t care less?
