"Phursungi - Uruli Devachi" area is one of the most beautiful areas on Pune’s boundary. Surrounded by beautiful hills, fresh air, rich soil and lush green farms, it is considered as one of the most flourishing areas around Pune. The place is also of historic importance, which has monuments and places of worship, built over a hundred years ago. The beautiful and famous lake built by the Peshwas called Mastani Lake is situated here. It can indeed be called Nature’s Paradise.

However, this Paradise has been turned into Hell by dumping nearly 2.5 million metric tons of garbage here. 900 -1200 metric tons comes everyday from the city alone. All of this has accumulated in the past 20 years creating huge mountains of garbage. This humungous amount of garbage includes degradable waste, plastic as well as dead animals.

The waste dumped at the garbage depot produces toxic methane gas as a result of which air is polluted and residents in and around the area are prone to various respiratory diseases. When rain water seeps into the garbage debris, germs and toxic waste in it mix along with the groundwater making it unhygienic and unfit to drink. Women have to use this filthy water from the wells for their daily household chores which results in skin allergies. This contaminated water is a threat to cattle as well. Apart from flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches and rodents, scavengers like vultures, crows and dogs make the villagers’ lives miserable. The farmers face a lot of problems when waste like plastic, polythene bags etc. get dragged into the fields by the winds, destroying their crops.

City is facing serious issue in disposing this large quantity. Dumping garbage to Urali Devachi has been completely stopped from 31st May 2010. PMC is trying to find solutions of disposing garbage in a decentralized way. Meanwhile Corporation banned the use of plastic bags totally, which irked the plastic industry and traders in the city. Plastic bags being the very negligible component in the solid waste, the real problem lies with the Solid Waste Management. Plastic industry representatives therefore have come forward to take up a sample ward for SWM in Katraj Gaothan.

Janwani joined hands with the NGOs working in this sector to make it a representative ward for making it a zero garbage and create sustainable system for decentralized waste management.

Janwani, Dhankawdi Ward office of Pune Municipal Corporation, Maharashtra Plastics Manufactures Association, and SWaCH Co-operative, Lions club international and local corporator are part of this initiative.