Panaji, Aug 27 (PTI) In a bid to discourage the use of environmentally-hazardous idols of Plaster of Paris (PoP) during the coming Ganesh Chaturthi festival, the Pramod Sawant-led Goa government has doubled the subsidy paid to local artisans who make clay Ganeshas.
The scheme was launched in 2008 by then chief minister Manohar Parrikar.
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Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the most important festivals in the coastal state, and Ganesh idols are worshipped in nearly every Hindu household before they are ceremonially immersed in the sea, a river or a pond.
The Goa Handicraft Rural Small Scale Industries Development Corporation (GHRSSIDC), the nodal agency for the `The Goa (Subsidy to Clay Idol Makers) Scheme 2008′, has been getting encouraging response from artisans every year.
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The corporation’s Managing Director Ajay Gaude said the state government has enhanced the subsidy amount paid to clay idol makers from Rs 100 apiece to Rs 200 per idol, for a maximum of 250 idols. The scheme is limited to the first 388 artisans who apply.
Artisans have to submit an undertaking that the idols have been actually produced by them and not procured from outside the state.
The subsidy is available for only clay figures or idols made by Goan artisans who should have their own workshops.
As per the data available with the GHRSSIDC, 375 artisans were paid a total of Rs 49.90 lakh in 2021, while Rs 51.64 lakh were disbursed to 376 artisans in 2022.
In 2023, a total of 388 artisans were distributed Rs 55.92 lakh.
A PTI video team travelled to Collem village on Goa-Karnataka border, 90 km away from Panaji, to meet Babita Gurav who is amongst the few women artisans.
“We don’t look at making Ganesh idols as a business. Our father started this back in the 70s, and after his death, we three sisters continued the tradition,” said Babita.
“This is an art for us, not a business,” she added.
Babita’s workshop at Collem currently displays more than 150 Ganesh idols, ordered by devotees in the area.
Sunildatta Madkaikar, resident of Marcaim village in Ponda tehsil, 40 km from Panaji, works with the postal department. In fact, a post office branch operates from his house opposite Shree Navadurga Temple.
But as Ganesh Chaturthi approaches, he spends his time after office hours making clay idols of the elephant-headed god, having learnt the art from his uncle. Madkaikar has been making idols for the last 43 years.
Every household has different requirements, so every idol is unique in some way, he said.
Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations will begin in the first week of September.
The sale of PoP idols is banned in Goa, and the ban is being enforced strictly, said a police official. Vigilance is maintained on state borders to ensure that PoP idols are not brought in from outside, he said.
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