Remains of immersed idols float on the Mahanadi river, causing pollution. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Oct. 7: Immersion of idols in the Mahanadi and Kathajodi rivers here during the festival season has become a cause for concern among environmentalists because of increased use of cheap lead and chrome-based paints in most of them. Increased use of plaster of Paris has also left them worried.

The festival season begins with Ganesh puja in September continues with Viswakarma puja, Bhalkuni puja, Durga puja, Kali puja, Kartikeswar puja and ends with Saraswati puja in February. More than 3,200 small idols and 300 large community idols are immersed in the two rivers.

This year, idols of goddess Durga and other deities were set up in 150-odd traditional puja mandaps. Chrome and lead-based paints were used at nearly all puja mandaps, a practice which allegedly poses a threat to the survival of aquatic creatures and increases pollution in the already contaminated Mahanadi and Kathajodi rivers.

“Since lead and chrome are carcinogenic heavy metals, which dissolve in water, immersion of such idols contaminate the rivers,” said Biswajit Mohanty, an environmentalist. Both lead and chrome-based paints are hazardous substances and harmful to humans. Earlier, idols were made exclusively of clay, which is an eco friendly substance since it easily dissolves in the river waters. They used to be painted with organic dyes mostly derived from stones, vegetables, seeds, fruits, seashells and clay soil. For example, the colour red was derived from kumkum seeds while the roots of the jackfruit tree yielded the colour yellow. These age-old practices, however, have now given way to modern cheap inorganic paints as idol makers find the use of cheap inorganic paint an attractive proposition.

There has also been an increased use of plaster of Paris in idol making since it dries faster and is stronger than the traditional clay, which was used earlier. “Plaster of Paris is insoluble and contaminates water bodies by forming an impermeable layer on the river bottom preventing biodegradation which causes build up of poisonous gases that in turn destroy aquatic plants and fish,” the environmentalist said.

“There are strict guidelines for idol immersion in big cities such as Mumbai and Delhi, where thousands of idols are immersed every year during the festive season,” he said, blaming the government for not initiating any move to regulate immersion of idols.

“We have no guidelines for idol immersion in Cuttack,” said an official at the Regional Office of State Pollution Control Board here.

During the immersion ceremony, puja articles such as polythene bags, foam cut-outs, flowers, food offerings, decorations, metal polish, plastic sheets, cosmetic items, all of which are highly polluting, are also thrown into the water. “Most of these throwaway items are non-biodegradable and contain harmful heavy metals. They are harmful to animals and to humans, when the water is used for drinking or bathing,” said Mohanty, who is the secretary of the Wildlife Society of Orissa (WSO). “A ditch filled with water could be dug up near the river bed and all idols could be immersed there to prevent contamination of the entire river water,” he suggested.

The Central Pollution Control Board of the government of India, acting on a complaint by WSO, had directed the state board to frame guidelines to control water pollution in the state by immersion of idols made of harmful substances. “But the Orissa State Pollution Control Board is yet to wake up to this pressing issue,” the WSO secretary said.