ICAR Turns Ganesh Visarjan Waste into Organic Manure

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the apex body for farm research under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, has run awareness and cleanliness work at its institutions as part of the Swachhata Hi Seva activities. The drive, reported on 26 September 2026, was built around cleanliness after Ganesh Visarjan, keeping public spaces clean and handling waste responsibly.

The message at the pandal

An awareness programme on cleanliness after the immersion was organised at a local Ganesh pandal. Participants were told why idols made of clay are the environment-friendly choice, and were asked not to immerse idols of Plaster of Paris or idols painted with harmful chemical colours in drinking water tanks. They were urged to use the immersion sites marked for the purpose and to keep idols and puja samagri out of natural water bodies altogether.

Sorting the waste

The programme also pressed for the proper collection and disposal of flowers, puja samagri, plastic, thermocol and the other decorative waste that festivals leave behind. Speakers explained why immersion sites must be kept clean, why littering has to be stopped, and what safety precautions people should take near water bodies. The stretch around the pandal was then cleaned, with the garbage collected and segregated so that it could be disposed of safely.

Compost at Ranchi and Mumbai

Two institutes turned the offerings into a resource. At ICAR-NISA in Ranchi, Jharkhand, and at ICAR-CIRCOT in Mumbai, Maharashtra, biodegradable offerings such as flowers and other puja samagri were collected and separated from the rest of the waste. The compostable material was then processed at composting facilities to prepare organic manure, so that waste generated during Ganesh Visarjan came back as a useful input for the soil.

Taken together, the activities were meant to spread awareness about cleanliness, sanitation, protection of the environment and responsible waste management, and to push people towards clean, safe and environmentally responsible practices during the festival and after it. The council underlined that protecting water resources and keeping public places clean rests on collective responsibility and on people taking part themselves.