There is no communal angle to the sealing of the Ganesha idol warehouse in TN rather it’s due to chemical contamination.
Claim
This video will move any normal person to tears ! In what can be termed as a revenge attack against Hindus, the Tamil Nadu government has sealed the godown of Ganesha Idol Makers in Karur district. The heart touching appeals and tears did not move the authorities who seem to be in a hurry to implement CM Stalin’s hateful agenda against Sanatana Dharma and its followers. This is the same Stalin who along with his son Udhayanidhi preach about equality and empowerment !
Rating
Explanation
Vinayagar Chaturthi festival is going to be celebrated all over India on 18th September. A video is currently going viral on social media claiming that the Tamil Nadu government has sealed the godown of the Ganesha idol makers in Karur district in an environment where the work of making Ganesha idols is going on in full swing. Some workers from Rajasthan who work here are seen crying about this situation.
The users who shared the viral post also claimed that the Stalin government was taking revenge against the Hindus and even the tears did not move the authorities who seemed to be in a hurry to implement CM’s hateful agenda along with his son against Sanatana Dharma and its followers. This same post was widely spread on social media with similar claims that can be seen here.
Moreover, this same post was also shared by Tamil Nadu’s BJP President K. Annamalai on his X account. Come, let’s check the authenticity of this viral accusation.
What’s the truth?
After analyzing the news that is spreading, it was found that this test took place in the idol manufacturing warehouse belonging to the people of Rajasthan state, located in the Sungagate area of Karur district, where chemical Ganesha idols were manufactured. It was also learned that the investigation had been carried out.
Therefore, to know the truth about this, while talking to Karur district revenue officer Kannan from YouTurn side, “A complaint was received to the district administration through the pottery workers there that Vinayagar idols made of chemical mixture were being sold in Karur Sungagate area.
So regarding that complaint, we inspected the warehouse there. We found that the Ganesha idols there were made with a mixture of banned chemicals. After that, we sealed the warehouse with idols prepared for Vinayagar Chaturthi. Idol makers should not suffer financially. So after the end of Ganesha Chaturthi, these idols will be handed over to them,” he assured.
Also, it has been mentioned in the news including Dinamani that the warehouse was sealed because the chemical substance called Plaster of Paris was mixed in the making of the idols.
The Karur Collector took to X to clarify the truth regarding this issue and further asked not to spread misinformation.
Incidents of idol confiscation since 2018:
A warehouse in Tirunelveli was also sealed on September 13 for making idols mixed with chemicals. Similarly, in the Chitradurga area of Karnataka, 12 Ganesha idols made in violation of the ban have been confiscated by the municipal commissioner.
Also, in 2023 alone, various states like Puducherry, Orissa, and Karnataka have banned the making of Ganesha idols mixed with chemicals.
In 2018, during the AIADMK rule, more than 150 Ganesha idols worth several lakhs were confiscated for adding more chemical ingredients to increase the color.
Plaster of Paris statues and their environmental damage:
Usually every year on the eve of Ganesha Chaturthi, some specific Hindu organizations including the general public have been doing a regular event of installing Ganesha idols in public places and then taking the idols in a procession and dissolving them in water bodies like the sea, river and lake.
Accordingly, every year at most, about 2 lakh Ganesha idols in Bengaluru, about 1,50,000 idols in Mumbai, and about 40,000 idols in Hyderabad are dissolved in hundreds and thousands from important cities across India.
Therefore, on September 11, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and the Union Pollution Control Board published the guidelines for the dissolution of these idols and the regulations regarding the materials used to make the idols on their websites on the occasion of Ganesha Chaturthi.
It states, “It should be encouraged to make idols made of natural, bio-degradable, eco-friendly raw materials that are non-toxic, mineral-free. Also idols made of plaster of paris (POP), plastic and thermocol (polystyrene) shall be banned.
This plaster of Paris contains chemicals like gypsum, sulfur, phosphorus, and magnesium. Also, the dyes used to paint the idols contain chemicals like mercury, cadmium, arsenic, lead, and carbon. Plastic and thermocol materials are used to decorate the idols. Such substances are non-biodegradable and therefore cause toxicity when dissolved in water bodies. Hence, there was a need to develop guidelines for dissolving idols.”
Environmentalists have said that besides avoiding statues made of plaster of Paris, the government should cooperate in confiscating statues made by mixing various chemicals in violation of the ban.
Conclusion:
In our research, as in other states in India, a team from the revenue department and district environmental protection department sealed the warehouse in Karur for making Ganesha idols mixed with banned chemicals as per the guidelines of the Union Pollution Control Board in Tamil Nadu.
But it can be seen that the BJP and many other social media users, including Annamalai, are diverting it religiously to incite communalism.
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