By Biswaraj Pattnaik, October 22, 2015 : The whole Hindu world celebrates Dussehra displaying the highest amount of reverence, joy and community solidarity.

The festival variously known as ‘Garbha-Dandiya’, ‘Ramlila’, ‘Golu’ and ‘Durga Pooja’, has a most dangerous dimension, which probably has not been appropriately recognised. It is reported that every year at least 5000 large size idols of Goddess Durga are immersed in different rivers of Odisha which cause deadly lead pollution in rivers. More are immersed in ponds and other water bodies where rivers don’t flow.

It is estimated that one standard size Durga idol weighing 200 kilograms [kgs] contains 1.5 kg lead. Thus 5000 Durga idols, when immersed will add 7500 kgs of lead to the water. Similarly, one lakh  Ganesh idols immersed in water bodies add 1500 kgs of lead. Clay, plaster of paris, cloth, paper wood, thermocol, jute, adhesive materials and synthetic paints etc cause additional woe.

Of all materials used in making idols, thermocol is just not ever biodegradable while paints contain heavy metals such as Chromium, Lead, Cadmium and Mercury. The chemical paints used to decorate the idols increase heavy metal concentration causing horrific acidity of water.

Lead and Chromium, which come through SINDUR (vermillion), are also very toxic even in minute quantities. Innumerable Ganesh, Vishwakarma, Durga, Lakshmi and Kaali idols are immersed in rivers and ponds in quick succession across only two months. Thousands of tons of clay, plaster of paris, cloth, paper wood, thermocol, jute, toxic adhesive materials and synthetic paints in debris form cause havoc to the quality of water.

Post immersion, concentration of heavy metals remains alarmingly high damaging the foodchain irreparably thereby destroying entire aquatic ecosystems permanently. Religious activities shall not stop. It can be regulated with laws and mandatory norms. The state has a duty to first create the critical awareness among the people and then start imposing severe penalty to enforce civilised behaviour.

“WATER”, rightly considered the elixir of life, is worshiped since Vedic days. It is called the ‘golden liquid’ that creates and sustains both plant and animal life in any form. But nature-hostile life style changes have lead to criminal deterioration of limited sources of water on the living planet.

The media talks of municipal sewage and industrial effluents flowing into rivers and seas without treatment. There is hardly any warning signal given against festival related polluting activities that can exterminate or incapacitate numerous life species including humans in only decades, not centuries. Most ‘Hindu’ festivals do pose threat to the ecosystem mainly because of the ‘immerssible idol’ worship.

August to October is the danger period (interestingly, the Moorum festival too ends up with terrible tazias being immersed by Muslims in the month of May). Further, floating materials  indiscriminately released into water by temples and shrines decompose and result in eutrophication. The concentration of calcium increases significantly in the rivers and more in stagnant water bodies. Magnesium, Chromium, Cadmium, Lead and Arsenic concentration remain dangerously high for at least ten days after the immersion event. Though Magnesium is non-poisonous, it increases the hardness of water making soaps useless. Heavy metals, especially manganese, lead and mercury do also increase considerably beyond permissible limits.

Festival related water pollution causes increase in cadmium, mercury and lead, and other potentially obnoxious heavy metals many folds, much beyond the BIS and ICMR standard parameters. Manganese, lead and mercury cause skin diseases. Cadmium and mercury concentrations in the river ecosystem do finally reach the humans through the food chain.

Methyl Mercury enters the human body and concentrates in the brain to destroy the brain cells, damaging the central nervous system apart from causing ulceration of the digestive tracts. Most water bodies, both flowing and stagnant are linked to religious sentiments. So change of behaviour would take time. But fitting rules by the executive can hasten the process of turning the masses civilised in good time.

Contamination researchers, local and central governments are trying to encourage worship
pers to use statues made of a softer clay, which would dissolve quickly and sink to the river or lake floor, and natural food colourings rather than toxic chemical paint to keep water fit for human consumption. Engaging local authorities for large-scale clean-up operations during or after festivals is a foolish proposition because it cannot happen effectively. Only exemplary punishment can have the desired effects when violation of a rule is committed.

The authorities have failed miserably to regulate the number of ‘pandals’ logically determined on the basis of area and density of population. Every lane now has a panadal with twenty to thirty unruly guys organising the pooja event with extortion money from helpless residents. Half the loot is spent on the event, the rest on liquor flesh – fowl meals and of course obscene song-dance stage shows that invariably uses ear – splitting decibels of cacophony and dazzling lights with stolen electric power. Social discord and clashes are commonplace and crime activity is routine.

If only a single pooja pandal were allowed for a whole community of 1000 people, life would have been one of love and trust. People living on the edge between two marked locations are forced to pay up to both the bandit groups often at war for supremacy over glamour and glitter issues, some areas have decent organisers and protective of their patrons. For some unemployable hoodlums, festival times are the only period for amassing money for a whole year.

What hurts is the fact that the law enforcement agencies including the police to keep law and order around this time turns pally-pally with the hoodlums for some good food and fun and pretending to be helplessly deaf and dumb to public complaints against blaring speakers and filthy litter generated all around.

‘Immerssible idol worship’ festivals with callous authorities, are a pain in the neck, the spine and the head put together. May the immerssible Gods and Goddesses save the Odisha people from the torture of extortion, noise, filthiest litter and our rivers and ponds by declining to be seated around every  corner. Their own Divine Idol population during the festivals must come drastically down. The smaller their number, the bolder the solidarity of the communities. No clashes, no mayhem would ever occur.

Unlike of the old times, when everybody- old, young and the kids would wait a whole year for Dussehra to arrive, no one seems to care today except of course the ‘Pandal’ organisers who are invariably the community  bullies superbly capable of showing the red eye to extort money under the plea of Pooja subscription. It is also not untrue a negligible number of this ‘bully community’ is genuinely concerned about social events that build solidarity. The rare breed of this do-good being too is degenerating fast due to power and one-upmanship tussles.

Water is always a deficient development ingredient in Odisha like elsewhere. Our rivers are nearly dry for six months. The ponds and water bodies around the rural and growing cities are being buried without stringent regulation mechanism of any kind.

Violation of ‘water body damage or encroachment ‘ codes does not toss the offender into prison cells or extract a million rupees from him by way of penalty. Amnesty is always waiting to come his way as the authorities are too eager to strike deals of give and take and let him go scot free. At the most, offender is tipped to knock the doors of law courts and keep the matter locked up there for years.

Hindu festivals do not any excite people anymore : they cause growing anxiety as difficult-to-manage crowd, noise and filth come with them for certain. And at the end of the idol worship events, the immersion ceremony virtually leaves the people with no potable water.

Happy Dussehra to the humankind that belongs to the Hindu fold!