In the Indian city of Mumbai, millions of Hindus are just now wrapping up the annual 10-day celebration of Ganpati, a holiday dedicated to the elephant god Ganesha. The holiday has come under scrutiny, however, because of the incredible environmental damage that results from the 11 billion statues that are released into water bodies in the city and across the state each year. Many of the statues are made from a plaster that carries pollutants. Namrata Kolachalam reports from Mumbai on struggling efforts to make the statues more eco-friendly.
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