Navi Mumbai: 63.695 Tons of Ganeshotsav Floral Waste to Be Converted into Fertilizer for City Gardens

The Ganeshotsav, which began on August 27, was celebrated with great enthusiasm by the citizens of Navi Mumbai. Responding positively to the appeal made by Municipal Commissioner Dr. Kailas Shinde to celebrate an eco-friendly and plastic-free Ganesh festival, citizens embraced environmentally conscious practices.

Citizens who installed eco-friendly clay (Shadu) idols were honoured with certificates recognising them as 'Environment Friends'. Following the High Court’s directive, a large number of devotees chose to immerse idols below 6 feet in height at 143 artificial immersion ponds set up across the city, thus contributing to environmental conservation.

Similarly, citizens were encouraged to dispose of flower garlands, leaves, and other offerings (collectively known as Nirmalya) in designated wet and dry Nirmalya containers at immersion sites. The appeal received an excellent response. Across four immersion days, a total of 63.695 tons of Nirmalya was collected at 22 natural and 143 artificial immersion sites. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) had arranged separate transport vehicles for collecting Nirmalya.

Under the supervision of Additional Commissioner Sunil Pawar and Solid Waste Management Deputy Commissioner Dr. Ajay Ghadge, sanitation officers and staff carried out the collection campaign in a systematic manner.

Offerings like flower garlands, leaves, tulsi, fruits, and other biodegradable items were collected as wet Nirmalya, while decorative materials and non-organic items were collected as dry Nirmalya. This segregation made it possible to scientifically process the floral waste into compost. The compost will be used for the city's gardens and green spaces.

On key immersion days, the following amounts of Nirmalya were collected:

• 7th-day immersion (Gauri visarjan): 24.440 tons

• 1.5-day immersion: 14.205 tons

• Anant Chaturdashi (10th day): 14.070 tons

• 5th-day immersion: 10.980 tons

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Additionally, flower petals from immersion sites such as Dharan Talav (Koparkhairane), Kopri, and Mahape Gaon were collected in collaboration with the Dr. Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari Foundation (Revdanda) for compost production.