Sphagnum Moss Ganesh! Odia artist’s eco-friendly crusade continues

Bhubaneswar: Odia artist Pramod Patnaik seems to be on a mission to promote ‘eco-friendly’ ways to observe festivals in the country. Taking his crusade forward, the artist has now created a Ganesh idol made of ‘Sphagnum Moss,’ which is all set to be major crowd-puller on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi in Karnataka.

Patnaik, for the last 17 years, has been creating eco-friendly Ganesh idols for several ‘puja pandals’ across the country.

This time, the artist from Odisha has created a 13-ft tall idol with Sphagnum Moss as its base material. Besides, as foam sheets and water have been used to construct the frames, the idol can be preserved for a long time, he informs.

Rs 1.40 lakh has been spent for this unique Ganesh idol made of grass.

“Eco-friendly Ganesh idols can certainly help in protecting the water bodies and environment from pollution. The ‘puja’ organisers across the country should celebrate the festivals in an eco-friendly manner,” said Patnaik.

Patnaik further informed that it took him nearly eight days to complete the Ganesh idol that will be inaugurated on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi tomorrow.

It is not for the first time that Pramod Patnaik has come up with a unique concept to create awareness on protecting the environment by saying no to ‘Plaster of Paris’ and other harmful chemical colours used in idol-making.

Earlier, the artist from Odisha had created a unique 20-ft tall idol made of paper and foam sheets for Alkapuri Mandal club in Surat in 2015.

The artist had also created a 31-ft tall eco-friendly Ganesh depicting the Kedarnath Tragedy at Sadasev Nagar, Belgam in Karnataka in 2013.