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India embodies unity in diversity. A spectrum of culturally different rituals and festival are celebrated each year in India. However, with festivals come environmental disasters. There is an urgent need to brood over such large-scale unbridled celebrations of Socio-cultural & Religious festivities and be aware of what are they doing to our environment so that we may modulate them with changing times. Safe drinking water is a problem in all the developing countries and our fresh water resources, the precious treasures, are under a severe attack as many festivals involve immersion of idols into water bodies as a symbol of returning the elements which give life, back to the earth for a new cycle to begin. Come Bhadrapada and the idols of Ganeshji are established not only in households but also at the community centres as the festivals of Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja witness a massive community involvement. To match the contemporary ethos, new materials are being used for making and decorating the pendals with all the pomp and show without much thought being given to its impact on the environment. In the recent years, the practice of immersion of idols has become a growing cause of concern on account of its adverse environmental impacts, particularly on the water bodies. Toxic exposure of the larger community through deadly chemicals and heavy metals used for making idols is now under the scanner of authorities and enlightened groups. At the core of this concern is the issue of toxic materials and chemicals that has recently added a new dimension to the centuries old process of making idols and immersing them in water bodies(Visarjan). The growing size of idols and the desire for making them more and more colourful has forced idol-makers to shift from clay to the The increased use of Plaster of Paris as the base material. Immersion of hundreds and thousands of idols made of this material is wreaking havoc on our water bodies. When an idol made of Plaster of Paris which is insoluble in water is immersed in the water, it gets converted to gypsum, thus adding a large amount of material to the water that breaks down very slowly, while adding to the hardness of water, and degrading the life carrying capacity and quality of the water bodies. it degrades the ecosystem of the water bodies by forming an impermeable layer on the bottom of pond or lake. Mumbai’s sea beaches take in 1.5 lakhs of Ganesh idols every year whereas in West Bengal, over 50,000 idols are immersed in the Ganges river after Durga Puja. Thus the problem is spread countrywide. Immersion of idols in these natural aquatic ecosystems severely desturbs the whole ecological balance. The rampant use of harmful paints on the idols has triggered the fear of a health hazard and environmental pollution all across the country. Heavy metals like lead, cadmium and chromefrom which these paints are made are not easily assimilated in an aquatic environment and this leads to contamination of water bodies there by affecting various fish and prawn species. Further, they may even reach humans via the food chain when we consume the fish and other sea food. High levels of lead and other heavy metals can damage the heart, kidneys, liver, circulatory and central nervous system. The problem becomes more acute when the amount of input to these water bodies far exceeds their decomposition, dispersal and/or recycling capabilities. The toxics from anthropogenic inputs not only alter the natural fresh waters, but also have detrimental effects whose impact can be felt for long time. The looming environmental crisis is due to the non-biodegradable materials used for making these idols and also the fact that the number of idols has gone up dramatically over the years thus, implied that the concentration of such materials is steadily increasing After examining the water before and after immersion It has been found that the concentration of substances like calcium, magnesium, molybdenum and silicon and the heavy metals like arsenic, lead and mercury is increased. Surveys by several state & Central Pollution Control Boards, Indian Toxicology Research Institute and several independent researchers have found that the problem has already reached an alarming stage and therefore honourable supreme Court taking cognisence of these issues has ordered the CPCB to issue certain guide lines to conduct the practice of idol immersion in such a manner that minimum damage is caused to the environment. . In an effort to save whatever is left of our environment, we must attempt to urge people to stop using Plaster of Paris (POP) Ganeshas during Ganesh Chaturthi and start using clay ones. As the latter are eco-friendly and bio-degradable, they don’t cause any harm to the environment when immersed in water unlike the POP ones. Further we should also focus on as to how we can minimise the impact of these festivals on the environment without hurting people’s religious sentiments. The Lord Ganesh is the deity of wisdom and artistic expression May he guide us to celebrate these festivals in an environmentally sound manner. You may also visit my power point presentation on www.slideshare.net