Mumbai's Lalbaugcha Raja food waste to power civic hospitals during Ganesh Chaturthi
Mumbai's civic body will use wet waste generated at the Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal to produce electricity for municipal hospitals during this year's Ganesh festival.
Under the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's 'Prasad to Energy' initiative, around 80 metric tonnes of food waste from the pandal is expected to be converted into more than 7,700 units of clean power, officials said.
The initiative is being carried out in coordination with the Lalbaugcha Raja Mandal, one of the city's most visited Ganpati pandals during the 11-day festival.
The electricity generated will be used for suitable purposes at civic hospitals, including lighting wards, corridors and other common areas.
According to an official release issued on Friday, the BMC expects around 8 to 10 metric tonnes of food and organic waste to be generated every day at the mandal during the festival, which begins on September 14.
The segregated waste will be collected at source and transported in dedicated vehicles to biomethanation plants at Nair, Kasturba, GTB and Sion hospitals. Each of these plants has the capacity to process around two metric tonnes of waste a day.
The release said the actual power generated will depend on the quantity and quality of the segregated waste received, as well as the operational condition of the plants. A private company has been appointed to operate and maintain the biomethanation project.
The BMC said the initiative is meant to show that wet waste generated during large public festivals can be scientifically processed to produce energy, while reducing pressure on conventional waste disposal systems and promoting the idea of a circular economy.
Overall, the BMC's plan links festival waste management with clean energy generation, with food waste from the Lalbaugcha Raja pandal set to be processed at four civic hospitals during the Ganesh festival.- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 12, 2026 11:37 IST
