Assam artist creates Durga idol using 30,000 expired capsules and syringes

Dhubri, 22-Oct-2020

Thematic pandals have become an integral part of Durga Puja over the years. While many Durga Puja pandals used coronavirus theme this year, one artist from Dhubri, Assam, decided to use medical waste to make an idol of Goddess Durga. Sanjib Basak spent about two months to create the idol of Maa Durga using over 30,000 expired capsules and syringes. Basak has made idols using waste materials such as match sticks and wires in the past. Basak, who works with the Disaster Management Department in Dhubri, observed that medical stores were throwing away their stocks of expired medicines "Often, shopkeepers give expired medicines back to the company. But, this time, because of the lockdown, they could not do so. Hence, there was a lot of waste stock," Basak told news agency. He decided to use the expired medicines and syringes to make an idol of Durga for this year's Puja. He said that discussions in his department are on how to reduce waste and that's why he was able to come up with the idea of using medical waste. Basak made it to the Assam Book for Records in 2019 when he made a Durga idol using waste electrical wires weighing 166 kilograms. In Kolkata's Behala area, the Barisha Club has installed an idol of a migrant worker who is also a mother. Clad in a saree, the mother walks with a shirtless toddler in her arms. Two of her daughters walk beside her. A fourth sibling has the head of an elephant.