39 Tonnes of Leftover Food From Lalbaugcha Raja Was Turned Into Electricity for a Mumbai Hospital

After 12 days of visits and meals, the festival’s leftover prasad and annachhatra food took a new route. BMC collected it separately through the “Prasad to Power” initiative. Instead of sending the waste to the Kanjurmarg landfill, it was sent for biomethanation. This turned discarded food into useful energy.

Nearly 39 tonnes were processed at Sewri TB Hospital. The waste produced 3,645 cubic metres of biogas and 4,382 kWh of electricity. Sewri’s plant could handle only 2 tonnes of organic waste daily, so the excess travelled to plants at Sion, Kasturba and Nair hospitals.

The energy was intended for Mumbai’s civic healthcare system. The biogas was meant for hospital use, while the electricity was intended for Ward 9 at Sewri, where around 90 patients were admitted. The plants also process organic waste from nearby hotels.

The project processed nearly 39 tonnes of food waste from Lalbaugcha Raja. That volume came from food served through the mandal’s prasad kaksh and annachhatra during 12 days of devotees’ visits. BMC made 45 trips to collect and move the waste.

At Sewri TB Hospital, biomethanation converted the organic waste into 3,645 cubic metres of biogas. The same process generated 4,382 kWh of electricity. The waste was handled separately, which allowed it to be treated as a resource rather than mixed with other rubbish and sent to the Kanjurmarg landfill.

Sewri’s plant could process only 2 tonnes of organic waste per day. Therefore, some of the collected material went to biomethanation plants at Sion, Kasturba and Nair hospitals. The resulting energy was intended for Mumbai’s civic healthcare system.

Biomethanation is a process that breaks down organic waste in an oxygen-free environment. Microorganisms feed on the food waste and release biogas as they decompose it. The process matters because it gives discarded food another use instead of sending it directly to a landfill.

The article reports that nearly 39 tonnes of Lalbaugcha Raja’s food waste were processed at Sewri TB Hospital. The leftovers produced 3,645 cubic metres of biogas and 4,382 kWh of electricity. The collected material came separately from the mandal’s prasad kaksh and annachhatra, making it suitable for treatment.

The article names biomethanation but does not detail its biological stages. In general, the resulting biogas can be burned as a fuel. It was meant for hospital use in this project, while the electricity generated from the process was intended for Ward 9 at Sewri TB Hospital.

The leftovers were not only treated as waste. Their energy was intended to support patients and hospital operations. At Sewri TB Hospital, the electricity generated from Lalbaugcha Raja’s food waste was intended for Ward 9, where around 90 patients were admitted.

The process produced 4,382 kWh of electricity from nearly 39 tonnes of food waste. It also produced 3,645 cubic metres of biogas. The biogas was meant to be used at Sewri TB Hospital, while the electricity had a specific planned destination: Ward 9. This connected festival food waste directly with civic healthcare.

The article describes the intended use, not the final amount of electricity actually consumed by patients or the ward. Sewri could process only 2 tonnes of organic waste daily, so excess waste was sent to plants at Sion, Kasturba and Nair hospitals. This spread the energy-producing effort across Mumbai’s healthcare system.

The collected waste exceeded Sewri TB Hospital’s daily processing capacity. Its biomethanation plant could handle only 2 tonnes of organic waste a day. Since Lalbaugcha Raja generated nearly 39 tonnes over the festival period, Sewri could not process all the material alone.

The waste was therefore divided among several civic hospitals. After 45 collection trips, the excess was sent to biomethanation plants at Sion, Kasturba and Nair hospitals. This allowed the project to keep processing the leftovers instead of diverting them to the Kanjurmarg landfill.

The arrangement also spread the benefits across Mumbai’s civic healthcare system. Sewri’s output included 3,645 cubic metres of biogas and 4,382 kWh of electricity. The article explains that these plants were not built only for Ganpati celebrations. They also process organic waste from nearby hotels, turning food waste into energy for Mumbai’s hospitals.

When food waste is sent to a landfill, it joins other discarded material and is no longer directed into the energy-producing process described here. The article presents the Kanjurmarg landfill as the destination the project avoided. Separate collection gave the leftovers a different route and a further use.

Through biomethanation, the food waste was processed at hospital plants. Nearly 39 tonnes of Lalbaugcha Raja’s leftovers produced 3,645 cubic metres of biogas and 4,382 kWh of electricity. The waste came from the mandal’s prasad kaksh and annachhatra and was collected separately by BMC.

The article does not describe the detailed environmental effects of landfill disposal. It does show the practical difference in destination: landfill disposal ends the food’s journey as waste, while biomethanation turns it into energy. Excess material went to Sion, Kasturba and Nair hospitals because Sewri’s capacity was limited.

In biomethanation, microorganisms break down organic waste in a sealed environment without oxygen. As they digest the food waste, they release biogas. The article identifies this process as the route from Lalbaugcha Raja’s leftovers to energy, though it does not describe the microorganisms or stages in detail.

The biogas can be burned in equipment that drives an electricity generator. In this project, nearly 39 tonnes of food waste produced 3,645 cubic metres of biogas and 4,382 kWh of electricity. The biogas was meant for use at Sewri TB Hospital, while the electricity was intended for Ward 9.

Sewri could process only 2 tonnes of organic waste daily. Excess material therefore went to plants at Sion, Kasturba and Nair hospitals. These plants also handle organic waste from nearby hotels, extending the same waste-to-energy system beyond festival leftovers.