Ongole, September 6, 2013: Ahead of the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, students of a city school held a rally here on Thursday with a big message to protect the environment by celebrating the festival in an eco-friendly way. The students of Nellore Ravindra Bharathi School on the Anjaiah road here went round Nirmalnagar urging people to celebrate the festival with all the pomp and grandeur but without polluting the environment.

Holding placards, they urged people to shun idols of Ganesha made of Plaster of Paris and harmful chemical paints, which adversely affected the environment.

The students in chorus stressed the need for switching over to the traditional way of celebrating the festival with environment-friendly clay idols painted with natural colours.

Source: The Hindu, September 6, 2013