What happens to a Ganesha idol after it is immersed during Ganpati visarjan?
asserted
it → happen → visarjan
In Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, some of the idols are getting a second use as study tables, benches and other products for children.
asserted
some → get → children
An initiative involving Mumbai environmentalist and Beach Please founder Malhar Kaalambe and Gujarat-based recycling expert Dr Binish Desai is collecting broken and immersed Plaster of Paris (PoP) idols and processing the material into usable products.
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initiative → involve → products
The initiative is aimed at addressing two problems at the same time: the waste generated by PoP idols after visarjan and the shortage of basic educational infrastructure in some government schools.
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initiative → aim → schools
Around 3,000 kg of PoP waste was diverted during the pilot and converted into 760 study tables for economically weaker section students in NMMC schools.
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kg → divert → schools
According to Kaalambe and Desai, the circular-economy initiative is called ‘Visarjan Se Vidya Tak.’
uncertain
initiative → accord → Kaalambe
The process involves recovering PoP from immersed idols, separating it from other materials and processing it into new products.
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process → involve → products
The finished study tables are intended for government school students.
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tables → intend → students
The pilot project was carried out with the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), with support from Henkel India's CSR division and the Rotary Club of Joy of Giving.
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project → carry → Giving
As reported by Mid-day, around 3,000 kg of PoP waste was diverted during the pilot and converted into 760 study tables for economically weaker section students in NMMC schools.
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kg → report → schools
The team collected about 3,500 kg of PoP last year, of which around 3,100 kg was recycled.
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kg → collect → which
The material was used to make 700+ study tables, three benches, 500 keychains and more than 200 penholders, according to figures supplied by the team.
uncertain
material → use → team
What happens to the idol material?
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What → happen → material
The recycling process does not involve simply crushing an idol and turning it directly into a table.
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process → involve → table
According to Mid-Day, the PoP first has to be separated from paint, metal, cloth and other contaminants.
uncertain
PoP → accord → paint
Desai said metals are completely removed because the final products are intended for children.
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products → say → children
Paint is also removed before the material enters the recycling process.
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material → remove → process
Desai told Mid-Day that for a typical 3-4 kg medium-sized idol, around 96% of the material can be recovered.
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% → tell → material
The recovered material is then processed using the MurtiCycle technology developed by Pushpam.
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material → recover → Pushpam
The proposed process involves recovering the PoP remnants after immersion, transporting them to a material recovery facility for drying and filtration, and then sending the refined material to a manufacturing facility in Valsad, Gujarat.
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process → propose → Valsad
There, it is made into water-resistant classroom study tables.
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it → make → tables
The project began with a small test
Image Courtesy: Instagram/@kalambemalhar
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project → begin → test
Kaalambe said the idea came from what he and his team had been seeing during their beach clean-up drives over the past nine years.
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he → say → years
After Ganesh Utsav, they would often find fragments and broken pieces of Ganesha idols on the beaches.
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they → find → beaches
“The whole question came up: where do the idols end up?” Kaalambe said in a conversation with News18.
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Kaalambe → come → News18
He said that even when idols are immersed in water bodies or artificial ponds, they are eventually collected, broken down and sent to landfills because there is currently no proper system for disposing of them.
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they → say → them
“That’s when I initiated a conversation with Dr Binish Desai.
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I → ’ → Desai
I was just trying to understand through him if we can recycle the waste that we find on the beaches, including these PoP idols,” Kaalambe said.
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Kaalambe → try → idols
Desai told him that he had already been working on recycling such waste for several years and had conducted a pilot project in Gujarat.
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he → tell → Gujarat
The two then decided to explore whether the same approach could be replicated in Mumbai and Maharashtra.
uncertain
approach → decide → Mumbai
“In 2024, as a pilot project, we collected a few idols from the beach and sent them to Dr Binish’s facility, and these were recycled into multiple products,” Kaalambe said.
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Kaalambe → collect → products
The project then took a different direction when they connected the recycling effort with education.
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they → take → education
“In Hinduism, we call Ganpati the god of wisdom or education,” Kaalambe said.
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Kaalambe → call → wisdom
At the same time, the team found that many schools in rural and tribal areas of Maharashtra lacked basic educational infrastructure such as benches and study tables.
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schools → find → benches
According to the figure cited by Kaalambe, around 25,000 schools in rural and tribal areas lack such basic educational infrastructure.
uncertain
schools → accord → infrastructure
“That’s when we thought of integrating the two things and making it a project of not just circularity or environmental conservation, but also about disposing of the idols respectfully and supporting a child’s education,” he said.
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he → ’ → education
5,000 study tables planned for 2026
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tables → plan → 2026
The initiative is looking to expand this year.
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initiative → look → ?
The team already has commitments for 5,000 study tables in 2026.
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team → have → 2026
The products are not limited to tables.
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products → limit → tables
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
