Awareness campaign by Vishwa towards Eco-Friendly Practices at places of Worship

June 12, 2010, Mumbai: On the evening of June 12, 2010 Vishwa in collaboration with ISVS organized a waste collection campaign across 4-5 temples in the Banganga area. More than 50 volunteers from Vishwa, children, women and senior citizens, collected nirmalyy (flowers offered to deity in the temples) in special Vishwa corrugated boxes. These were emptied in a special pit created, layered with clay, mud and water to aid recycling, in the Purshuram Mandir. Over a span of 3-4 months, the Nirmalayy will merge with clay, mud and water and be converted into organic, eco-friendly compost.
Every day hundreds of people visit the 4-5 temples in the Banganga area of Walkeshwar to offer puja. After the puja, the floral offerings are collected and immersed in the nearby sea. This is not only a form of pollution as even plastic bags are thrown in the sea, but also a waste of resource. Worship of the deities should not be at the cost of the environment, but should benefit nature and contribute to more sustainable life. Recycling Nirmalyy shows genuine respect for the life giving natural forces and it will help preserve and protect natural resources.
After the collection drive at the time of sunset, ISVS performed an air purification ritual (agnihotra), which is based on the principles outlined in the ancient holy texts of the Vedas, in the Banganga tank area. Agnihotra is a ayurvedic healing fire that purifies the air in that area as well as surrounding areas. The ritual helps to raise awareness on environmental issues among devotees and priests (pujaris).   The attempt is to educate the pujaris so that they in turn can suggest the same to the vast number of devotees who visit the temples regularly.
Talking about the campaign Mr. Yogendra Vora, Convenor, Vishwa, says, "It is a small contribution towards preserving resources by recycling and generating organic manure to reduce carbon footprint caused by consumption of chemical fertilizer."
Dr. Pururshottam Rajimwale, Co-Founder, Vishwa and Director of ISVS, believes, "Agnihotra is the ultimate solution to all the environment related issues. Agnihotra purifies the atmosphere and has long term benefits. If Agnihotra is performed by every individual, it will help us create pure environment to live in. This is small campaign to educate people on the benefits of Agnihotra and recycling."
About Vishwa:
Vishwa is a unique first-of-its-kind platform in India to develop sustainable solutions to the environmental problems facing the world. Originating from the Sanskrit word meaning 'the whole world', Vishwa is a non-profit platform for strengthening the development of a greener tomorrow. It is an initiative of citizens who utilize resources from our Mother Earth and feel the need of nurturing and protecting it for the future by finding sustainable lifestyle solutions TODAY!! 
We understand that erratic human consumption behavior over the years has led to issues like Global Warming, Climate Change, Deforestation, Energy Crisis, Intense Pollution and Species Eradication, and we seek to redefine our individual consumption patterns as well as business practices, products and services to function in harmony with the planet.
As part of our vision to create a platform for bringing together, world class eco-friendly solutions… to create a cleaner & greener future for our world, Vishwa organizes an annual event, The Vishwa Show as well as year round activities that look for micro-solutions to macro problems, and provide information about what every individual can do to make a difference.