Jamshedpur’s flower waste collection drive for Durga Puja has begun with 10 dedicated vehicles assigned to collect floral offerings from 87 GPS-tagged puja pandals under the Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC). The collected flowers, bel leaves and other biodegradable offerings will be processed into compost instead of being dumped in open spaces or water bodies.
The initiative is part of the Swachh Pandal Competition and is intended to provide a separate disposal system for waste generated at puja pandals and temples. East Singhbhum deputy commissioner Rajiv Ranjan flagged off the collection vehicles on Friday, and the drive became operational on Saturday, according to JNAC officials.
The 87 pandals covered by the programme have been GPS-tagged to help the municipal body coordinate collection. Each vehicle will cover multiple pandals, allowing JNAC to track collection points and organise routes during the festival period. The move places biodegradable floral waste within a separate municipal stream rather than treating it as mixed festival refuse.
JNAC officials said other puja waste would be collected separately. This includes containers used for bhog, leaf plates and artificial garlands. That material will be taken to designated disposal sites near the immersion ghats, where it will not be processed together with the floral offerings.
The separation is significant for municipal operations because the waste generated at pandals is not uniform. Flowers and leaves can be composted, while artificial garlands and food-service materials require a different handling process. JNAC’s collection plan therefore depends on puja committees keeping these categories apart before handing them to the municipal vehicles.
JNAC municipal commissioner Yogendra Prasad asked puja committees to segregate floral waste and hand it over to the collection vehicles. He said the initiative would help maintain cleaner pandals and promote eco-friendly waste management during the festive period.
The programme also connects festival management with the wider challenge of preventing biodegradable offerings from reaching open spaces and water bodies. By assigning dedicated vehicles and identifying every covered pandal, JNAC is using a scheduled collection approach rather than relying only on post-festival clean-up. The supplied report does not specify the total quantity of waste expected to be collected or the composting facility where the floral material will be processed.
For residents and puja committees within the JNAC jurisdiction, the immediate requirement is source segregation at the pandal. Floral offerings must be separated from bhog containers, leaf plates and artificial garlands so that each category can be directed to its designated disposal route. JNAC’s next operational step is to continue vehicle-based collection across the 87 GPS-tagged pandals during the Durga Puja period.
