Mysuru: In yet another initiative to promote an eco-friendly Ganesha Chaturthi, with the festival scheduled to be held on Sept.14, the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) had organised a one-day workshop on making clay Ganesha idols for school students at the Town Hall premises on Thursday.

MCC Commissioner M.K. Savitha, who interacted with the students, said that the workshop was also aimed at creating awareness on the need for conserving our water bodies.

Pointing out that environmental awareness should begin at an early age, she maintained that children could play a key role in taking the message of eco-friendly celebrations to their families and communities.

“The MCC has been promoting clay idols as an alternative to Plaster of Paris (PoP), which are painted with chemical colours. The immersion of these chemically coated PoP Ganesha idols will adversely affect the water bodies and environment,” Savitha said and urged the citizens to celebrate the festival responsibly to prevent water pollution and build a clean and sustainable Mysuru.  She also joined the students in making the idol.

Students who moulded the best clay Ganesha idols at the workshop were distributed prizes.

The winners in the High School category are: First prize – Vishal (8th standard), Second prize – Sanjana (10th standard) and Third prize –  Preetham (10th standard), all of Sadvidya High School.

Primary School section: First prize – S. Mithun (6th standard) of GSSS School, Second prize – Vibhashri (5th standard) of GBSC School and Chinmayi (7th standard) of Pragathi Vidya Kendra.

MCC EE (Environment) K.S. Mruthyunjaya, Environmental Engineers V. Sridevi, Naveen, Chinmayi and other officials were present.