After successfully turning Nirmalya (floral offerings) into a life-promoting substance by initiating a mini vermicompost plant in Bhayandar to produce organic manure in 2017, the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has now embarked on a mission to transform the floral waste into dhoop (incense) sticks.
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For this purpose, the civic administration has teamed up with the Uttan-based Keshav-Srushti organisation which has successfully commissioned the pilot project of turning floral waste into organic dhoop sticks, which are not only useful in religious rituals but purify the air by spreading a sublime fragrance on the virtue of flowers.
“Apart from our regular organic manure production, we will collect the floral waste in special urns kept at various immersion points during festivals and hand over the collected flowers to Keshav-Srushti for further process.” said municipal commissioner Dilip Dhole.
The process of manufacturing dhoop (incense) sticks envisages proper segregation of different kinds of flowers-some fresh, some on the verge of withering and some already dried up, followed by grinding the selected petals into powder and mixed with natural ingredients including dung from desi Gir-breed cows and essential herbs.
The civic administration has already catered to more than three tonnes of floral waste which was collected on the second day of Lord Ganesh idol immersions on Thursday.
The civic administration also plans to extend another helping hand to promote the project by creating a mechanism to collect discarded floral waste from around 200 religious institutions in the twin city.
The project will not only recycle discarded floral waste in a scientific manner and turn them into a useful product but will also create employment opportunities for the members of the tribal community who are being trained and roped in for the job, an official said.
