Vadodara Ganesh Mandals compete to keep festival eco-friendly

Vadodara, Aug 29 (PTI) A day after Prime MinisterNarendra Modi appealed to the nation to use clay-made idols,the Vadodara Municipal Corporation said it will hold acompetition among the Ganesh Mandals to inculcate a sense ofcleanliness and of responsibility towards the environment. The VMC also urged the Mandals to use idols made ofclay and not the ones made of Plaster of Paris. Modi in his monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio programmeyesterday had urged those celebrating Durga Puja and GaneshUtsav to use idols made from clay. The 10-day-long Ganesh festival begins September 5. Civic Commissioner Vinod Rao told PTI the"eco-friendly" Ganesh Mandals will be judged on the type ofmaterials they use for making the idol and other parametersfor decoration. Moreover, the overall cleanliness inside the Pandalsthroughout the festival will be judged by a panel of experts. The winners will be judged on the theme, the socialmessage and the overall presentation (of the decoration). Thefinal results will be declared after the festival is over, headded. Mayor Bharat Dangar claimed the civic body is first inthe country to hold such a competition. "We decided to hold the competition to inculcate asense of responsibility towards the environment and ofcleanliness in Ganesh Madals. This will ensure no toxicelements are released when dismantling the Mandal after theimmersion," Dangar said. PTI COR NRB TIRBAS