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MAKING GANESHA FEEL THE TSUNAMI EFFECT? A youth hurling a Vinayaka idol into the sea at Palavakkam. Photo: A R Jayakumar

        With several Hindu organisations planning grand processions of Vinayaka idols on 23 September to immerse them in the sea, some of the outfits have already started their 'dispatch' work. And the care they are taking to put the deities in the water is not a nice thing to see.

        The other day, a group of young men thronged Palavakkam beach to immerse the idols. Apart from a big deity of Ganesha, they carried many small idols collected from households.

        In an act which will shock any believer of the Almighty, they threw the idols into the sea without showing any respect to them. Moreover, they played with the deities by throwing the idols at each other.

        Is this the way to treat God after performing pooja for more than a week? Didn't the idols deserve at least minimum respect before bidding adieu to them?

        When asked, they had this to say, 'if we simply put it in the sea, it will again touch the shore within a few minutes. To avoid that, we are throwing the idols.' However, they did not reply to the question why they played with idols.

        Says S Srinivasan, coordinator of Siva-Sudha, a spiritual association at Kottivakkam, 'though immersing the deities in water bodies is a custom being followed for centuries, it is surely a matter of concern that some people don't show any respect while putting them in the sea. Something has to be done to check this.'

        Meanwhile, an e-mail did the rounds pleading theists to think a while before immersing Ganesha idols in the sea. Attached with shocking photographs of the pathetic situation of the idols after getting immersed, the message says: 'Is this the way to play with the God? Do you like your Gods bulldozed like garbage? Or to remain like debris on the sands? How can we expect that the Almighty will save us from the calamity?'

        Besides, there are voices crying that chemicals and colours pollute water bodies due to the act. 'The chemicals used in making of the idols should be minimised as far as possible. Immersion should be done in the running water rather than immersing the idols in the stagnant water,' they say.

        The police have clearly instructed that the idols taken for procession should not exceed 10 feet and not be made of chemical dyes.

        In addition, organisers of the Ganesh procession were asked to use either thin sheets or asbestos to cover the idols, and not carry inflammable materials like crackers.

        But, the public feels that it will be more better if the police take some action to take care whether these idols are 'carefully' immersed in the sea. Will they?