Ganesh Chaturthi is a 10-day festival celebrated every year in the month of Bhadrapada as per the Hindu calendar. The celebrations this year kicked off on 10th September and will conclude with Ganesh Visarjan on 19th September 2021. Several interesting and unique Ganesh idols have been created this year all across the country. A Ludhiana-based baker, for instance, created a huge Ganesh idol with 200kg chocolate. And now, a Gujarat woman has created a Ganesh idol decorated with food packets to send an important message about food wastage. Take a look:
(Also Read: Ludhiana-Based Baker Makes Ganesh Idol With 200 Kg Chocolate)
Radhika Soni is the lady who came up with this intriguing concept. She created a 5ft tall Shivlinga with 1008 biscuit packets and 850 rudraksh, and placed the Ganesh idol in the centre of it. There are banners of two Baroda-based organisations on either side of the installation, which are working towards saving leftover food from being wasted and distributing it among the poor. According to Soni, the packets of biscuits will be distributed among poor children after the Ganesh idol has been immersed.
According to Radhika Soni, the idea for the unique idol on Ganesh Chaturthi came from her personal experience. "During a function at my home, there was a lot of leftover food and we found someone for donation after great difficulty. We thought back then that food is not something to be wasted. One-thirds of total food is wasted every day worldwide. The message is 'Don't Waste Food'," she said to ANI.
She further used the example of mobile data to explain the importance of preventing food wastage. "If we can try and use up our entire mobile data before its expiry, shouldn't we do the same with our food," she questions. Food wastage is a pertinent problem across the world and contributes to several other environmental issues such as climate change. It is estimated that a staggering 50kg of food is thrown away per person every year in Indian homes, according to the Food Waste Index Report 2021.