Thaneites celebrate Holi with dash of colours and splash of water; some societies go the eco-friendly way

Thane: As the city witnessed abundant rainfall due to which there have been no water cuts this summer, the Holi celebrations across Thane was celebrated on a vibrant and colourful note. However, residents also saw to it that they did not waste too much of water.
Ármed with water balloons, pichkaris and colours, kids and adults were seen smeared in festive colours.

While some societies have lifted their water cut policy this year, others have filled up their small man-made ponds with fresh water.

“We have a small and shallow concrete pond in our society that we haven’t been able to use for the past few years due to water shortage. Holi celebrations are incomplete without some elements of water, which is why we let our children splash around in the water we collected in the pond this year for Holi. It also gave them some respite from the heat,” said a resident of Thane’s Centre Point society.

Even though some societies made the most of the abundant water, many went the eco-friendly way.

“For the past few years we were not able to play with water during Holi as there was always a crisis. As we have abundant supply this year, we allowed the children to play with water, but a limited amount. So we encouraged them to use only water guns as it doesn’t lead to too much of wastage. We also ensured that everyone used natural colours that would be washed off easily,” said Parag Walanj, a resident of Brahmand society.

Similarly, a resident of Eden Woods society also shared the same opinion.

“Holi is the celebration of good over evil, so how can we celebrate the day by doing evil by harming the environment? Just because the water quantum is good this year we shouldn’t exploit it. So, we used less water this time as well. We also used dry colours instead of the harsh toxic ones,” the resident said.

At most of the socities, it was the children who had suggested for an environment-friendly celebration.

“Children learn a lot about saving the environment in school. So, many kids came up with suggestions of playing a eco-friendly Holi. In addition to preventing water wastage, residents of Hiranandan Estate refrained from hiring a DJ to prevent noise pollution. We had a lot of fun playing Holi with dry colours,” said Madhu Menon, president of the Hiranandani Estate Residents’ Welfare Association.

Holi is the celebration of good over evil, so how can we celebrate the day by doing evil by harming the environment? Just because the water quantum is good this year we shouldn’t exploit it. So, we used less water this time as well. We also used dry colours instead of the harsh toxic ones