Archive · 17 Sep 2026
Mumbai Mandal Recycles Flowers and Paper into Giant Ganpati Idols
Every year, many people celebrate Ganeshotsav by making and immersing Ganesha idols.
Sunil Mayekar’s family worried that plaster-of-Paris idols were polluting nearby lakes.
Since 2008, their mandal has made its own idols from materials such as tissue paper, bamboo and used flowers.
They have also tried banana fibre and other discarded materials.
These idols can break down more quickly than plaster idols.
The mandal now uses an artificial tank instead of a lake for immersion.
Afterward, it collects the paper pulp and saves it for the next idol.
This creates a cycle in which one year’s idol helps make the next year’s idol.
The Bal Gopal Mitra Mandal in Vile Parle East has made its own Ganpati idols since 2008.
The idols use tissue paper, paper pulp, bamboo, used flowers and, in some years, banana fibre.
A 2015 idol stood 22 feet tall, used 30,000 tissue papers and weighed 150 kilograms.
In 2016, the Mayekars made 11 idols from 355,000 tissue papers for mandals across Mumbai and nearby areas.
The mandal’s 25-foot 2026 idol uses pulp recovered from the previous year’s immersion and is immersed in an artificial tank for reuse.
- Who
- The Bal Gopal Mitra Mandal, led in this effort by sculptor Digambar Mayekar and his sons Sunil and Rajesh.
- What
- The mandal makes giant, eco-friendly Ganpati idols from tissue paper, paper pulp, used flowers, bamboo and other recycled materials.
- When
- The mandal adopted this approach in 2008; the account describes a 25-foot idol made in 2026.
- Where
- Siddhivinayak Society in Vile Parle East, Mumbai; the idols are immersed in an artificial tank.
- Why
- Residents wanted to reduce the pollution caused by plaster-of-Paris idols in nearby ponds and lakes and reuse materials after immersion.
- Mandal
- Bal Gopal Mitra Mandal, run by residents of Siddhivinayak Society
- Traditional-material alternative
- Tissue paper and paper pulp over a bamboo frame
- Largest described idol
- 25-foot Mumbaicha Peshwa idol
- 2015 milestone
- A 22-foot idol used 30,000 tissue papers and weighed 150 kilograms
- 2016 production
- Eleven idols made from a combined 355,000 tissue papers
- Other materials
- Used flowers, banana fibre, alum, cocopeat and vegetables
- Immersion method
- An artificial tank, with recovered paper pulp stored for the following year