Jamshedpur’s flower waste collection drive is now operational across 87 Durga Puja pandals under the Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC), with the civic body deploying 10 dedicated vehicles to collect floral offerings and send them for composting instead of dumping them in open spaces or water bodies.
The initiative has been launched as part of the Swachh Pandal Competition to promote scientific disposal of biodegradable waste generated during the festival. The vehicles were flagged off by East Singhbhum deputy commissioner Rajiv Ranjan on Friday, and collection operations began on Saturday, according to the Times of India report.
JNAC officials said the vehicles would collect flowers, bel leaves and other biodegradable offerings from the pandals and temples. The collected material will be processed into compost. Each vehicle will cover multiple locations, with all 87 pandals GPS-tagged to support route planning and collection monitoring.
The arrangement separates floral waste from other materials generated at the puja venues. Bhog containers, leaf plates and artificial garlands will be collected separately and taken to designated disposal sites near the immersion ghats. The segregation plan is intended to prevent non-biodegradable material from entering the composting stream.
The civic body has asked puja committees to segregate floral offerings and hand them over to the collection vehicles. JNAC municipal commissioner Yogendra Prasad said the initiative would help keep pandals cleaner and encourage eco-friendly waste management during the festive period.
The drive addresses a recurring operational challenge for urban local bodies during large public festivals: managing waste that is generated at multiple temporary sites over a short period. The use of GPS-tagged pandals and dedicated vehicles gives the civic body a defined collection network, while separate handling of floral and non-biodegradable waste allows different disposal methods to be used.
For residents and festival organisers, the immediate requirement is source segregation at each pandal. Flowers, bel leaves and other biodegradable offerings need to be kept apart from food-service waste, artificial garlands and containers so that the collection teams can process the material according to its type.
JNAC’s arrangement currently covers the 87 puja pandals within its jurisdiction. The civic body’s next operational step is the continued collection of floral waste through the dedicated vehicles and its processing into compost, while other festival waste is to be transported separately to the designated sites near the immersion ghats.
