VASCO: An eco-friendly initiative by former city councillor Krishna Daji Salkar has generated about 70 bags of waste material consisting mainly of flowers which were used for Ganesh Chaturthi festivities. The waste generated is being utilised to produce manure.
Salkar told TOI, “The flowers used while performing pooja are not discarded in public places as it is believed that they are sacred and should not be trampled upon. So people earlier started throwing it in the water which was creating water pollution. Here we are providing them the option of getting rid of the waste in a fruitful manner. This material will be used as raw material for producing manure.”
Three teams of 10-15 volunteers are stationed at three locations, Baina beach, Khariawada beach and Vaddem lake. The teams keep bags near the immersion point and devotees also help by dropping waste into these bags. The teams also collect any other material thrown around and help keep the spot clean.
Salkar said, “The segregated flowers are sent to the vermicomposting unit of Murgaon Education Society (MES) college where the flowers are treated and converted into manure. Last few years I have been collecting it and distributing it for free of cost to people. In this way we try to give back to the nature what we have taken from it.”
