Ganesh in our Waters

My stepson and a friend found a large collection of statues of the Hindu God Ganesh in Lake Chauncy today.

My understanding is that putting representations of Ganesh into water is part of the Hindu festival Ganesha Chadurthi. That's all well and good. Certainly, we have freedom of religion in this country and far be it from me to tell people they cannot practice their religion.

However, disposing of any manmade object into public waters is against the law so I take exception of using our public waters for this purpose.

We have a large population of Hindu residents in Westborough and the surrounding area. If all adherents to Hinduism engage in this practice, it is a serious pollution issue for the Town's public waters. Granted, Lake Chauncy is not a public water supply but that's besides the point. People swim in these waters and fish in these waters.

The Hindu community in Westborough needs to understand that their freedom of religion ends at the water's edge as far as Ganesh is concerned. They need to find another way to honor Ganesh that does not violate state and local law and despoil a publically shared resource.