Overview
- GHMC held a third edition of Project Udvasana that collected 753 kg of worshipped materials from about 150 participants, bringing total drop-offs to 313 and total weight to roughly 1.25 tonnes.
- Items brought to designated temple collection centres receive an Udvasana Puja to withdraw the divine presence before municipal teams sort materials for reuse, refurbishment or environmentally responsible recycling.
- Collection centres have been set up across six GHMC zones with named temples acting as drop-off points, and residents can email sustainability.cure@gmail.com for information.
- The drives address a long-standing gap in disposal options that has led households to abandon sacred items near temples, under trees or in water bodies and added to public-waste problems.
- GHMC now proposes to institutionalise the programme by running regular temple drives and partnering with temples, NGOs, volunteers and companies to build a citywide system for respectful handling and recycling of religious waste.