Meet the Pune youngsters who have joined a campaign to make Ganpati festival eco-friendly

This festive season, the campaign has entered its fifth year in Pune.

In his first year as a volunteer, Jagdale worked with the campaign’s Sinhgad Road centre. He conducted surveys, asking people if they use clay or Plaster of Paris Ganesh idols, and if they would be willing to switch to clay. He was motivated to do more work as almost 90 per cent of residents gave him a positive response. “When I was in my first year, not many people knew, but slowly due to support from the media, there is awareness. There is still some way to go, more support is needed,” said Jagdale.

In the past few years, 20,000 kg of clay has been collected and returned for free each year. This year, the campaign aims to collect 50 tonnes of clay and has readied 60 collection centres across Pune, hosted by the Poornam Ecovision Foundation. Volunteers will stand at these centres to receive the clay on September 15 and September 22, between 10 am to 1 pm.

The Pune Municipal Corporation has also endorsed the campaign and offered 50 dedicated immersion tank locations to collect the clay sludge from the idols immersed here.

Jagdale recalled a heartwarming experience from the first time he volunteered. “I was sitting at the centre, waiting for people I had spoken to during the survey to turn up with clay. One senior citizen whom I had not met before, came to me and struck up a normal conversation. After reading the board, he asked me about the campaign. He said that he had collected clay for the last four years. He got all the clay, and since then, he donates every year,” Jagdale said.

Namita Bhave, a postgraduate in the development field, has been volunteering with SWaCH waste pickers for the past three years. They are a part of the Nirmalya to Nisarga Initiative, which works to collect segregated votive offerings during the Ganpati festival. “On the tenth day, I visit the ghats where Ganpati visarjan (immersion) is done and work with the waste pickers, requesting the people to not drop any materials in the water body,” said Bhave.

Mrunal Karandikar, a BA Psychology student who originally hails from Satara district, has been volunteering with Punaravartan for the last two years. The 19-year-old first found out about it through a friend, and while Karandikar was aware and only used idols made of natural clay at home, she was inspired after learning about the initiative to recycle the clay.

Pune’s success with this campaign was presented before Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Subsequently, 43 Amrut cities across Maharashtra were instructed to replicate the Pune model by implementing the Punaravartan campaign.

This year, the campaign is being jointly organised by the eCoexist Foundation, Poornam Ecovision, Swach Coop, Jeevit Nadi, Pune Climate Warriors, The Youth Cosmo, Bavdhan Citizens Forum, Team Swachh Kalyani Nagar, Fergusson College, Modern College, Cummins Foundation, Emcure Foundation, Trusteeship Foundation, Parimal and Pramod Chaudhari Foundation, Radio Big FM, Mission City Chakra and Paryavaran Gatividhi.