Agra, Sep 21 (IANS): Women organisations here on Monday said that the celebrations for Radhashtmi, birthday of Radha, Sri Krishna's consort, should be pollution free.

Members of a dozen-odd women groups called for "festival celebrations without pollution".

Convener Deepali Bansal told IANS: "In every festival, there is some amount of pollution. Immersion of idols in Yamuna is causing a huge problem. We are trying to persuade people to go for clay and mud idols and immerse them in the pits provided by the district authorities."

She said some 50 representatives of 15 women's organisations in the city have pledged their support to the campaign which will go a long way in creating an eco-friendly festive environment.

Roli Tiwari Mishra, member of the state women's commission, joined the programme and appealed to devotees to celebrate festivals in an eco-friendly manner.

Anshu Pareek, an activist, said thousands of idols of Ganesh and later of Durga would be immersed in the river which hardly has any water. "Since most of these idols are made of POP and are painted with toxic paints and colours, the river water gets contaminated."

The women's organisations have decided to hold meetings in different parts of the city to educate the people and create awareness.