Chandigarh’s Visar -Vahan driving towards Swachh Diwali

On the occasion of Dhanteras and under Swachh Bharat Mission’s Swachh Diwali Shubh Diwali campaign, Municipal Corporation Chandigarh launched the “Visar -Vahan”. The idols and photo frames of deities that break, are often kept under the peepal and banyan trees.165 such locations were identified by the Chandigarh MC where broken idols and other pooja offerings were left unattended. In order to ensure that no symbol of the almighty ever enters the waste stream, the Visar -Vahan was launched.

The Visar -Vahan has been divided into compartments, one each for Idols, photo frames and chunris. The vehicle will collect these items and deposit them at the RRR centre. Two SHGs have been trained especially for re-modelling these items into clothes for deities, curtains for temples and pooja trays made out of papier-mâché. The PoP idols will be immersed in a special water tank at the C&D waste plants. Chandigarh’s unique initiative paves way not just for Reduce Reuse Recycle but also helps in collecting the actual ‘dhan’ (the waste) to transform them to treasure on Dhanteras.