Panaji, Aug 23 - This year popular religious festival of Ganesh Chaturthi has come with a definite green lining in Goa.

Aggressive campaigning and lobbying with civic authorities in Panaji by a group of green activists has ensured that a significant volume of nirmalya - floral offerings made to Lord Ganesh in course of the festivity - will be converted to compost and not dumped into the Mandovi river, which skirts the state capital.

'We are proud to be a part of this initiative. The compost generated from the nirmalya will be used in our corporation's gardens and parks as manure,' Elvis Gomes. civic commissioner of Panaji, told IANS.

A care would be taken to ensure that the composting of nirmalya would be done in separate pits, considering the religious sentiments attached to the offerings, he said.

Gomes said the mud oven-baked nirmalya pots, procured by the civic body, would be placed at high-visibility locations at various idol immersion points throughout the city, so that people could utilise the opportunity of doing a unique green deed this Ganesh festival.

'The move was a result of several suggestions made to us by civil society groups. We are taking every step possible to make Ganesh Chaturthi eco-friendly,' he said.