NewKerala.com

Gujarat CM Urges Eco-Friendly Holi, Women's Group Sells Natural Colors

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel extended Holi-Dhulendi greetings, emphasizing environmental protection during celebrations. Concurrently, a women's self-help group in Ahmedabad, led by Surbhiben, is promoting chemical-free Holi by producing natural gulal from ingredients like rose petals, turmeric, and spinach. The group successfully sold 60-70 kg of colors last year, earning over Rs 10,000, and expects similar success this season. This initiative provides the women with supplementary income while encouraging residents to adopt safer, eco-friendly alternatives for the festival.

Key Points: Gujarat CM's Eco-Friendly Holi Appeal & Natural Color Initiative

  • CM urges eco-friendly Holi celebrations
  • Women's group makes natural colors
  • Colors use flowers, vegetables, and herbs
  • Initiative provides supplementary income
  • Bulk orders from housing societies
2 min read

Gujarat CM extends Holi-Dhulendi greetings, urges eco-friendly celebrations​

Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel extends Holi greetings, urges environmental protection. Ahmedabad women's group promotes chemical-free celebrations with homemade natural gulal.

"Holi may fill the lives of people with happiness, prosperity and enthusiasm. - Bhupendra Patel"

Gandhinagar, March 3

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday extended his greetings to the people on the festival of Holi-Dhuleti and urged citizens to celebrate in a manner that safeguards the environment.

In his message on the occasion of the festival of colours, the Chief Minister said: "Holi may fill the lives of people with happiness, prosperity and enthusiasm."​

He described Holi as a festival symbolising the victory of truth over falsehood and said, "It conveys the message of meeting one another with affection, forgetting differences and strengthening social harmony."​

Patel also appealed to citizens to celebrate the festival collectively while ensuring that environmental protection remains a priority.​

Alongside the Chief Minister's message, a women's self-help group in Ahmedabad has drawn attention for promoting chemical-free celebrations by producing natural colours for Holi.​

Led by Surbhiben, the group has combined traditional practices with simple scientific methods to prepare gulal using natural ingredients.​

The colours are made entirely from natural materials, with arrowroot flour used as the base. To create red colour, rose petals and beetroot are crushed to extract their juice, which is then mixed with the flour.​

Yellow is prepared from marigold and amaltas flowers along with a pinch of turmeric.​

Green is derived from spinach and moringa leaves, with a small quantity of food colour added if required.​

For saffron shades, tesu flowers are boiled, and the coloured water is used in the preparation process.

Blue colour is made using aparajita flowers along with food colour. The blended mixture is turned into a pulp-like consistency, dried, ground, and sieved to obtain a soft gulal powder.​

Last year, the group sold between 60 and 70 kilograms of natural colours and earned more than Rs 10,000.​

Several housing societies placed bulk orders of around five kilograms each for community celebrations.

​This year, the women have again prepared natural colours, packaging them in 100-gram packets priced at Rs 50 each, with similar income expected.​

The initiative has enabled the group to generate supplementary income while encouraging residents to opt for chemical-free alternatives during Holi-Dhuleti.​

- IANS

Share this article:

Reader Comments

R
Rohit P
Good message from the CM. Holi is about harmony, but every year we see water wastage and chemical colours causing skin problems. Supporting these women's self-help groups is a win-win - they earn, we play safe. More awareness needed in rural areas though.
A
Aman W
Respectfully, while the message is good, it feels like tokenism. The government should subsidize these natural colours or run large-scale campaigns. Just an appeal isn't enough when chemical gulal is cheaper and easily available. Need concrete policy support.
S
Surbhiben
Thank you for highlighting our work! We are just a small group of mothers from Ahmedabad trying to make a difference. It's heartening to see orders coming in. Our children play with these colours without any rashes. Wishing everyone a safe and happy Holi! 🎨
D
David E
As someone who celebrated Holi for the first time last year in Gujarat, I was shocked by the chemicals. This is a fantastic step. The traditional methods sound beautiful. Hope this catches on across India. The colours from flowers and leaves must smell amazing too!
K
Kavya N
My nani used to make colours at home with tesu flowers and haldi. Good to see these traditions coming back with a social cause. ₹50 for 100gm is reasonable for the effort. Bhaiyo aur behno, chalo is saaf-suthre Holi ki shuruwat karte hain! 🪷

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

Leave a Comment

Minimum 50 characters 0/50