Bhubaneswar, Aug 28: In a remarkable step towards sustainability and cultural reverence, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has launched a unique campaign to convert used puja flowers into incense sticks.

Starting with Ganesh Puja, this initiative aims to honour religious sentiments while promoting a cleaner, plastic-free environment.

Every year, thousands of flowers are offered at mandaps, idols, and temples during festivals. Once wilted, these sacred offerings often end up in drains, roadsides, or water bodies, creating unhygienic conditions and hurting devotees’ emotions. To address this, BMC has begun collecting floral waste from across the city using dedicated vehicles that visit mandaps daily.

The collected flowers are transported to a processing unit in Pokhariput, where they are dried, ground into powder, and mixed with natural fragrances to produce incense sticks. These sticks, crafted from offerings made to deities, will be used again in worship—completing a spiritual and ecological cycle.

BMC Commissioner Chanchal Rana emphasized that this initiative not only respects cultural values but also ensures responsible waste management. “From the deity’s feet to the deity’s service again — this is a sacred transformation,” he said.

The campaign, titled Aastha Turns Aesthetic, will continue beyond Ganesh Puja and extend to Durga Puja and other upcoming festivals. BMC also plans to collect floral waste from temples, ensuring that no sacred material is discarded improperly.

Sanitation workers, NGOs, and local volunteers are being trained to support the initiative. Citizens are encouraged to segregate puja waste and hand it over to designated collectors. A dedicated helpline (1929) has been launched for mandap organizers to request pickup services.

This initiative marks a significant shift in urban waste management, blending tradition with innovation to create a cleaner, more respectful cityscape.