Mangalore : Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim has advised people to be eco-friendly while celebrating the Ganesha festival.

The idols of Ganesha should be made out of clay and not of Plaster of Paris. The idols should not be painted and they should have natural colours. Before immersing the idols, flowers and other decorative materials should be removed and they should be dumped in the bins fixed by the civic bodies. They should not be burnt.

Pointing out to the guidelines issued by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, he said the decorative materials should not be thrown openly on the roads and drains.

The guidelines said that pandals for keeping the idols at mass Ganesha festivals should be erected using environment-friendly materials.

LED/CFL bulbs should be used and the generators if used its sound and smoke should not disturb others. It should be ensured that wires of generators should be left on the wet ground.