Kolkata: Several high-footfall pujas across the city, including College Square, Singhi Park, Mudiali, Tala Prattoy, Harish Park, Bhowanipore Abasar Samity and Salt Lake’s Central Park, have adopted and enforced “zero-waste” practices at their pandals. With help from KMC and BMC, the organisers have put up separate bins for plastic and organic waste. While the former will be recycled, the latter will be turned into fertiliser.Conservancy workers and volunteers are keeping watch on visitors to ensure everyone complies with the rules.According to the organisers, about seven pandals where the initiative is being undertaken were selected by CM Suvendu Adhikari’s office. Subrata Gupta, chief adviser to the CM, said, “As we celebrate Durga Puja, we must ensure our environment is not marred by carelessly discarded waste.” Arun Lal, member of Mudiali Club’s puja committee, said, “Around 13 dustbins have been put up on our pandal premises.” At Singhi Park, the pandal premises are being swept at intervals. Avirup Sen, secretary of Singhi Park Sarbojanin Durga Puja Committee, said, “We can see the difference. Crowds stream into our pandal but the premises remain clean.” Indian Plastics Federation (IPF), an industry body representing stakeholders in the plastic sector, and Tandhan Group, a city-based diversified conglomerate, have partnered with the civic bodies to recycle the waste generated at the pandals.Subhasish Maity, joint secretary of Tala Prattoy, said, “ This initiative makes people aware that if we dispose of waste responsibly, we can make a difference.” Basudeb Banerjee, a member of Abasar Sarbojanin Durgotsab Committee, said, “Managing waste used to be a big challenge earlier. This time, we joined the drive and our pandal is waste-free.”Lakhan Dhona, a member of Salt Lake Sanskritik Sangha that is organising puja at Central Park, said, “In the future, organisers can allocate budget for waste management during puja.”Both Amit Agarwal, president of IPF, and Prachi Jalan, director of Tandhan Group, said the initiative is a step towards making city pujas include waste segregation and recycling as part of celebrations.
