E-waste Ravan sculpture installed on World Environment Day

Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneshwar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of World Bank Group, have installed an e-waste Ravan sculpture at Jaydev Vihar to spread awareness on the rising volumes of e-waste.

The initiative launched on the occasion of World Environment Day, for which India is the global host nation in 2018. It aims to highlight improper disposal and treatment of e-waste, posing a grave threat to the environment.

BMC Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena inaugurated the sculpture under the Clean E-Bhubaneswar Project, a part of the IFC-EU Eco-Cities Programme.

The initiative coincided with World Environment Day, in order to magnify the significance of the challenge that the increasing e-waste poses to our country. The effort stresses the importance of proper e-waste management, by raising awareness and a sense of responsibility amongst citizens.

Designed and constructed by artist Pinaki Ranjan Mohanty and his team including Bidyadhar Majhi, Raju Bhoi, and Mahesh, the e-Ravan sculpture is a masterpiece and named after the mythological character to emphasise the importance of paying attention to the e-waste issue before it grows out of control and harms the human race.

It can be mentioned here that e-gadgets are helping us do our jobs easily, but once they are out of their life and become waste, they turn into a burden and the danger grows like a demon, which, here at Jaydev Vihar has taken an imaginary structure of Ravan, the mythological character with 10 heads.

Here the artists’ group led by Pinaki has used old obsolete CRT computer monitors as the 10 heads of the demon. Different body parts are also made of motherboards, keyboards, integrated circuits, and other components of e-waste materials.

During the inauguration ceremony at Jaydev Vihar Square, BMC Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena, and Sarina Bolla from IFC were present among others.

“The beautiful piece of art made from e-waste will certainly create awareness among citizens on the evils of e-waste and its environmental impact. We are planning to install more such structures to spread the awareness. He further added that now the city has put in place a mechanism to recycle and process the e-waste materials scientifically,” said the Mayor.

“The city of Bhubaneswar has been an important partner in collaboratively building sustainable and long-term solutions for e-waste management across India,” said Sarina Bolla, Program Manager for IFC’s India E-waste Program.  “Raising awareness about the hazards of e-waste and the channels for proper recycling of e-waste is essential to achieving our objective,” she observed.

E-waste Ravan

This installation is part of the awareness campaign of the Clean E-Bhubaneswar Project that aims to ensure that the city’s e-waste is collected and recycled in an environmentally responsible manner.

To achieve this, the IFC in partnership with implementing organizations, Sofies Sustainability Leaders Pvt. Ltd. and Siddha Development Research and Consultancy (SDRC), seeks to establish a working model for e-waste collection in Bhubaneswar that would be self-sustainable and serve as a model for effective e-waste management in other cities as well.

An important aspect of the Clean E-Bhubaneswar project is to support local authorities including the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and Orissa State Pollution Control Board in generating awareness among citizens regarding the hazards of e-waste, and the proper e-waste disposal/recycling channels available to the public.

The BMC invites all citizens to join this Clean e-Bhubaneswar initiative and play a responsible role in creating a sustainable e-waste management system in the city if Bhubaneswar and be the torch-bearers for the entire country.

Citizens can call the toll-free number 1800-120-2723 for channelization of their e-waste or for any further information.

“Interested citizens and organisations can also call us so that we can receive the e-waste for their scientific management,” said Narasingha Panigrahi of SDRC.