Boats carry papier-mache statues of Ganesh for the Ganesh Chaturthi festival . They will be thrown into the sea to return to nature. Originally, these statues were made from clay, which would dissolve in the water, but now non-biodegradable painted statues are being used. Hundreds of thousands of these are thrown into the sea, significantly increasing the levels of iron, copper, mercury, chromium and acid in the sea water