Hyderabad: A civic initiative in Malkajgiri is seeking to improve the handling of discarded religious materials by collecting old and damaged idols, pictures and other sacred items from designated temples. The one-day Project Udvasana will operate across Malkajgiri, Uppal and LB Nagar zones on August 8, providing residents with designated points to hand over materials instead of leaving them in public spaces or conventional waste streams.
The programme is being organised by the Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation as part of an effort to create a more responsible system for managing religious waste. Collection points have been identified at selected temples across the three zones, allowing residents to deposit items that are no longer suitable for use. Religious materials can pose a particular waste-management challenge because conventional disposal methods may not be considered appropriate by communities. When such items are abandoned near roads, lakes, drains or open spaces, they can contribute to littering and complicate municipal waste collection. The initiative covers several locations in Malkajgiri, including temples in Vinayak Nagar, West Marredpally, Kushaiguda and Cheriyal. Collection centres have also been designated in Uppal and surrounding areas, including Boduppal and Ghatkesar.
In the LB Nagar zone, residents can use collection points at temples in Karmanghat, RK Puram and Nagole. The distribution of centres across different neighbourhoods is intended to make participation easier and reduce the likelihood of residents disposing of sacred materials through unsuitable channels. From an urban-management perspective, the programme reflects the growing need for waste systems to account for different types of community-generated waste. Segregation at source can help municipalities direct materials towards appropriate handling and reduce the burden on mixed-waste collection systems. The initiative also relies on community participation. Residents are being encouraged to bring old or damaged religious items to the designated centres, while volunteers can support the collection effort by registering through the civic body’s official social media channels.
Such drives can have a limited impact if they remain one-day interventions. A more sustained collection mechanism, particularly around major festivals and periods when households commonly replace idols and religious materials, could help build more consistent disposal habits. For Hyderabad, Project Udvasana offers a practical example of how civic bodies can combine cultural sensitivity with responsible waste management. Its longer-term value will depend on whether designated collection and environmentally responsible handling become recurring features of the city’s broader waste-management system.
