Salman Khan recently attended an event in Mumbai organized by the Divyaj Foundation, which promotes eco-friendly celebrations of Ganesh Chaturthi. The event was aimed at spreading awareness about the environmental impact of using non-biodegradable materials in Ganesh idols and encouraging people to switch to natural and eco-friendly alternatives.
During his speech at the event, Salman Khan emphasized the importance of using eco-friendly Ganesh idols. He made a heartfelt appeal to the audience, saying, "Sablog please eco-friendly Ganpati idols laye gharpe." This translates to "Everyone, please bring eco-friendly Ganpati idols home."
Salman further explained the reasoning behind his appeal. He described the sight of the beach after the Ganesh Visarjan, which is the ritual immersion of the Ganesh idol in the sea or any other water body. He said, "Visarjan ke dusre din samandar par acha nahi dikhta Ganpati Bappa ki parts alag alag ho gaye hai aur jameen par girr gaye hai." This means, "The day after the immersion, the sight at the beach is not good; parts of Ganpati Bappa are scattered and have fallen on the ground."
Salman also spoke about the issue with plaster of Paris (POP) idols, which are commonly used but are not biodegradable. He said, "POP ke idol banate hai log fir wo visarjan nahi hote," meaning "People make idols out of POP, and they do not get immersed." POP idols do not disintegrate easily in water, leading to environmental pollution and harm to aquatic life. By bringing attention to this, Salman aimed to educate people about the detrimental effects of using such materials for Ganesh idols. In his speech, Salman Khan encouraged people to perform the immersion of Ganesh idols at home if possible, rather than taking them to water bodies. He suggested, "Agar possible hai toh gharpe he visarjan karo," which translates to "If possible, do the immersion at home."
Salman concluded his speech with a powerful message about the purity of the festival and the idols themselves. He said, "Itna pure festival hai toh Ganesh ji bhi pure hone chaiye," which means "It is such a pure festival, so Ganesh ji should also be pure."