Pune: Ganapati celebrations go eco-friendly sans plastic

PUNE: Demand and sale of eco-friendly Ganesha idols and decorations have significantly increased as celebrations will resume on a bigger scale in offices, housing societies and institutions.
In a bid to be environmentally conscious while celebrating Ganeshotsav, people are avoiding use of plastic in decorations. Instead, they are opting for fresh flowers, recycled paper, cloth and other non-plastic materials. Ruchira Kulkarni, a resident of Kharadi, said, "This year, we have banned all plastic decorations in our society. We have ordered fresh flowers for decoration. For the past few years, we have also been buying eco-friendly shadu mati idols." Shobana Hadap, design principal, Pune Handmade Papers, said that the institute has sold over 2,000 paper mache idols this year, while they sold 150 pieces last year, when they introduced the concept.
Chitra Deshpande, who makes and sells eco-friendly decorations from paper and cardboard, said that the demand for bespoke items are high even though they are more expensive than mass-produced varieties.
Florist Shivani Mohite said, "Demand for flower decorations has grown by 70% this year as compared to the last two years," she said.
"The civic administration has formed teams for confiscation of banned material. The action is being taken at the level of ward office. The Pune Municipal Corporation has appealed to traders not to use such material," said Asha Raut, head of the PMC's solid waste management department.
(Inputs by
Prasad Kulkarni)