It all started when the science students of class 12th heard about the water-purifying properties of Aluminium Sulfate, commonly known as fitkari or alum. 

“A few days back, our chemistry teacher Ramanuj Pathak sir told us about the water purifying properties of alum in a process called ‘sedimentation’. It occurred to us if idols of Ganeshji could be made out of it,” Raushan Jain told Gaon Connection.

“Pathak sir appreciated our thinking and informed us that what we proposed was actually feasible as alum has a melting point of 92 degree celsius and its molten form can be used to give the desired shape of an idol,” Jain added.

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Pathak, the chemistry teacher at Government Venkat Higher Secondary School in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna district (440 kilometres from Bhopal)  stated that he was amazed after listening to the students’ ideas as his pupils were thinking about applying what he taught them.

“Not only alum is a safe alternative to materials like soil and plaster of paris (POP), it also helps in purifying water by ensuring that  the particulate impurities precipitate and are deposited at the bottom of the water body such as a pond. I would be glad if this experiment gets successful on a large scale and the government lends some support,” the chemistry teacher told Gaon Connection.

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How students successfully made idols out of alum

Aryan Kushwaha, a class 12 student explained that a plastic die is needed to shape the molten alum. 

“We use a utensil to heat the alum and it melts when the temperature reaches 92 degrees (celsius). We place aata (wheat dough) on the plastic frame and when it acquires the desired shape, we pour molten alum on it. After an hour or so, we scrape the dough out of the cool alum and our eco-friendly idol gets ready,” he said. 

The entire process has to be undertaken with caution as the alum begins to burn if heated beyond its melting point. 

“An idol made up of overheated alum will be fragile and will break easily. So temperature is of utmost importance,” Rakesh Raikwad, a student told Gaon Connection.

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Meanwhile, the regional officer of the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board KP Soni told Gaon Connection that every Ganeshotsav, revelers are urged to refrain from immersing idols in the water bodies as it is highly toxic chemicals.

“Whenever we test the water quality of ponds after an immersion, we find a high presence of heavy metals. We appeal to people celebrating the festival to immerse the idols in a pit and spare the water bodies,” Soni said.

Read this report in Hindi

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