Lalbaugcha Raja’s prasad to illuminate hospitals

The wet waste generated by the prasad community kitchen of the Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal will be transported to biomethanation plants at Nair Hospital, Kasturba Hospital, GTB Hospital and Sion Hospital, after it is segregated at source, according to a statement released by the BMC on Friday

MUMBAI: This Ganeshotsav, prasad at Lalbaugcha Raja, arguably Mumbai’s most iconic community Ganesha idol, will do more than feed devotees – it will help power BMC hospitals, as the civic body turns the mandal’s food and organic waste into renewable energy.

The wet waste generated by the prasad community kitchen of the Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal will be transported to biomethanation plants at Nair Hospital, Kasturba Hospital, GTB Hospital and Sion Hospital, after it is segregated at source, according to a statement released by the BMC on Friday.

The mandal is expected to generate 8 to 10 tonnes of organic waste daily during the 11-day festival. The BMC plans to generate 7,744 units of renewable electricity from this waste, the statement said.

The electricity thus generated will be used by the four hospitals for various purposes, including lighting in-patient wards, corridors and common areas.

BMC to recycle PoP idols

In a first, the civic administration will recycle Plaster of Paris (PoP) Ganesha idols immersed in artificial immersion ponds, temporary tanks and other water bodies, and has issued a ward-level standard operating procedure (SOP) for the retrieval and handling of these Ganesh idols. The move follows directions from the Bombay High Court.

This will be outsourced to an entity that will process an estimated 2,850 tonnes of retrieved PoP, which will undergo chemical disintegration or other similar processes. The recycled material could be reused in idol-making, plaster boards, ceramics, medical plaster, bricks or as filler material in the cement industry.