Tonnes of lost footwear during Ganpati procession in Lalbaug get a second life

In a rather unusual waste-management initiative, the BMC is refurbishing the discarded chappals, sandals, and shoes into footwear for schoolchildren in tribal areas

Mumbai: The old joke about losing one’s footwear outside a temple took an unexpected turn in Lalbaug-Parel on Saturday evening, when thousands of devotees who gathered for Ganesh idol arrival processions ended up leaving behind more than just memories of the celebrations.

The collected footwear is currently stored at a vacant plot at Saibaba Municipal School in Parel.

As massive crowds turned up for the processions, roads in the area were strewn with sandals, chappals, shoes and even boots of various shapes and sizes.

The unusual aftermath left the BMC’s solid waste management department with an additional task during its post-procession clean-up: collecting tonnes of discarded and lost footwear.

According to civic officials, around four metric tonnes of footwear—approximately one dumper load—was collected from areas including Bharatmata Junction, Jijabai Lane and the Chinchpokli railway station stretch.

“Ganeshotsav in Lalbaug-Parel is unique. We have several idol workshops here, and many mandals visit the area. On the day of the aagman, thousands of devotees come to the ward. On August 29, [Chinchpokli Cha] Chintamani Ganpati was welcomed, and there was a huge crowd. After dancing during the procession, many devotees discarded their footwear,” said Vrushali Ingule, assistant commissioner, F/South ward.

Civic workers began the clean-up around 10 pm. “We had our dumpers and sanitation workers ready. A team of around 50 labourers was deployed from Bharatmata Junction to Parel Naka,” added Ingule.

Discarded footwear collected during such events is usually sent to a dumping ground. This year, however, in a rather unusual waste-management initiative, the BMC is refurbishing the discarded chappals, sandals, and shoes into footwear for schoolchildren in tribal areas.

To do this, the civic body has partnered with the GreenSole Foundation, an NGO that refurbishes and upcycles footwear. “We will distribute shoes and slippers among children in tribal areas,” said Raju Srinivas, founder of GreenSole Foundation. “We have conducted need assessments in schools serving tribal communities. We also provide school bags and mats. We approach sponsors based on our ready database of requirements.”

According to Srinivas, the initial collection on the first day of the initiative, during the Chinchpokli Cha Chintamani aagman procession, was about one dumper load. “Sometimes we don’t get footwear in pairs, but we recreate them,” he said.

Srinivas said the BMC approached the NGO after seeing its work on social media. The NGO subsequently submitted a proposal to recycle and refurbish discarded footwear collected during Ganpati processions.