Mumbai: This year, the demand for eco-friendly Ganesh idols is keeping makers busy and the festival more eco-friendly, as per the workers.
Sandesh Narkar who makes eco-friendly idols using shadu clay said that he has sold nearly 30% more eco-friendly idols than last year. “I make shadu clay idols from one-and-a-half to three-feet tall Ganpatis. This year, the demand has been good and people have also purchased. I sold 85 idols as compared to 65 from last year,” said Narkar, who has his workshop in Girgaon.
He added, “I have very little manpower and I am a first-generation artisan. If I had more manpower, I would have tried to make more eco-friendly Ganpatis.”
The rise in demand was uniformly felt by other artisans despite the comparatively high cost as compared to Plaster of Paris (PoP) idols. The cost difference is double or even more depending on the kind of artwork done on the clay idols.
Artisans more keen to make clay idols due to rise in demand
“I make both PoP and shadu idols. I chose to make shadu clay idols more because the demand for them has been growing,” said Rahul Vele who runs a workshop at Curry Road.
Vele sold 150 PoP idols and over 300 eco-friendly ones made out of clay. “Only a few remain. The jump in sales has been nearly three times at my workshop also because I keep rates reasonable and not very high from those made of PoP,” said Vele.
Rates, he said, varied due to the artwork but the cheapest he sold was for ₹6,000.
Demand higher than supply
The makers said that the demand for the idols was such that they received the buyers more than the number of idols they have made this season.
“This is the 84th year of making shadu idols and I'm the fourth generation. Since we have our own customer base, we do not get the time to make extra idols for new customers. However, given the growing demand, more idols were made. This year, we made 1,500 idols and sold out to our old customers,” said Arvind Khanvilkar, another idol maker.
