Goemkarponn Desk
PANAJI: A unique QR code for each of the roughly 300 Goan idol makers should be provided, according to Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai, who made the point that the government has no control over the widespread sale of plaster of Paris (PoP) idols entering the State.
Sardesai highlighted the need to buck this trend by stating that PoP idols are imported from other States and sold on a fairly large scale. “Giving a QR code to the local idol makers is one method of doing it. In this manner, the buyer can be certain that the idol is a locally created handicraft,” he said. He went on, “Idols without a QR code should be confiscated.”
Concerns were voiced by MLAs Delilah Lobo of Siolim, Ulhas Tuenkar of Navelim, Jit Arolkar of Mandrem, Kedar Naik of Saligao, and Dr. Chandrakant Shetye of Bicholim regarding the widespread use of PoP idols during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
In Goa, Chovoth is observed with great passion and emotion. Lobo expressed dissatisfaction over the large number of PoP idols floating in the Visarjan ponds and urged the government to take strict measures to seize them.
Additionally, Lobo expressed gratitude to the government for supplying clay-moulding machines to idol makers via the Goa Handicrafts and Rural Small Scale Industries Corporation (GHRSSIDC). “In the past, these idol makers would use clay-moulding machines and their bare feet or hands to mold the mud.”
