Mysore/Mysuru: With the State Government banning sale of Ganesha idols made of Plaster of Paris (PoP), the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) Environment Officers conducted surprise raids on various shops to check for the sale of  PoP idols. 

During the raids, the officers noticed two PoP idols at one of the shops located behind Uma Talkies near Gandhi Square. The vendor was fined Rs. 5,000 for stocking the banned idols. The officials did not seize the idol as the vendor said he would send the idols back to Bengaluru from where he had brought.

While the sale of paper mould and clay idols are allowed, the officials are also checking for the use of harmful chemicals. The officials said, while clay idols were heavy in nature and would not be taller than 6 ft, the PoP idols are light and taller. The officials, who have decided not to seize the PoP idols at the initial stage, have been educating the vendors not to sell the banned idols with a warning of facing action on failing to follow the Government orders.

Meanwhile, the environmentalists have complained that PoP idols were stocked in farm houses and godowns in the outskirts of the Mysuru city and were being sold to rural areas.

It may be recalled that National Green Tribunal in May 2013 had banned the use of PoP Ganesha idols following which the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) issued a circular in 2016 to ban PoP idols and the accompanying polluting colours, both of which are detrimental to the water bodies. The ban got an edge after the High Court of Karnataka upheld it in 2019. In Sept. 2023, the State Government issued an order for effective implementation of the ban.