Recycling / Reuse of religious items like idols, photos, photo frames, small metal statues, photos of our ancestors, religious books, pothis, granthas etc.
Upcoming Drives
29 June 2025, Sunday
10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Shri Vitthal Mandir, Vitthalwadi, Sinhagad Road, Pune
13 July 2025, Sunday
10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Swatantyaveer Savarkar Bhavan, Pradhikaran, Nigdi, Pimpri – Chinchwad
kgs of Religious Material recycled
Completed drives
Here are the options to choose from

Personalised Service
- Register
- Our coordinator will call you to setup the timing of Uttar Puja
- Guruji will come to your place, perform vidhivat Uttar Puja and take all the items with him by managing the sentiments behind
Cost: Rs 2,000/-
This service is available for Pune City residents only and for collection of maximum of 5 kgs of religious material

Temporary Sankalan Kendra (TSK)
Please invite the “Vidhivat” team to set up its TSK into your premise.
We are actively looking for coordinators PAN India who are interested to take this drive in their respective cities.

For residents out of Pune
- Perform Uttar Pooja at your location locally
- Courier the parcel to Vidhivat, Pune
- Vidhivat will take care of its recycling/reuse
Cost: Rs 180/- per kg
Please make a payment as per above calculation to 9822878915 (GPay number) and call on the same number.

We collect and recycle following items
- Metal statues of gods, goddesses, national figures, your ancestors etc.
- All types of frames of gods, goddesses, national figures, your ancestors etc.
- Rudraksha, Gangajal, Shaligrams, Moti Necklace, Lockets, Gandas, Kadas etc.
- Religious books, pothis, granthas, panchangs etc
- Calendars or pictures having god or goddesses photos
Blogs
The Environmental Impact of Idol Immersion in Rivers
In Pune, India, and across the country, the immersion of idols of gods and goddesses in rivers is a common practice during religious festivals. While this tradition is deeply rooted in cultural and religious beliefs, it has significant environmental consequences,...
About Us
What do we do?
We set up a temporary collection centre preferably in a temple or a community hall in any residential area. Local residents come there and handover the religious material to us. Then we perform a common Uttar Pooja there only through the able hands...
A Sentiment Management Company
Vidhivat” is a ‘for profit’ company trying to create a channel to dispose off the not-in use statues, frames of gods and goddesses by managing the sentiments behind. “Vidhivat” is basically a sentiment management company and not a recycling center....
How we started?
Me and my technology business partner - Aniruddha Pimpalkhare, were doing a typical puneri chai pe charcha that day. Someone put lord Shiva’s statue near a dustbin bag of Aniruddha’s society and Aniruddha was telling me about the serious hot...

Rohit Phadnis
Founder | Social Communicator | Rotarian

Janhavi Phadnis
Co-founder | Interior designer
Core Team

Vainatey Gadre
Guruji | Photographer

Shripad Ranade
Guruji | Ex-banker

Pramod Phadke
Guruji (Modi Ganapati)

Arjun Langde
Operations

Suraj Mane
Operations
FAQs
What do you do with the collected religious material?
The collected religious material holds significant sentimental value. To honor this, we invite Guruji to perform a formal Uttar Puja for all the gathered items. Following the puja, the material is sent to a recycling center or for reuse.
What happens to our religious material when you send it to the recycling center?
First, we segregate the religious material, separating items like PoP (Plaster of Paris), wood, glass, metal, and paper. Each type of material is then sent to specialized recycling centers. These centers recycle the materials to create new items. For instance, PoP statues are processed to produce PoP powder, which is subsequently used for various purposes.
Why are you charging us?
Vidhivat is a for-profit organization, and we have chosen this business model to ensure the sustainability of our initiative. We need to cover expenses such as contract labor, recycling costs, transportation, venue rents (like community halls or society club houses), donations to temples, marketing expenses, and more. Additionally, we aim to make this venture profitable.
What will the recycled items be?
We don’t have control over the specific items produced from the recycling process, and therefore, cannot guarantee the outcome. The recycled product may be religious in nature or may not be. Our primary responsibility is to ensure that religious materials are disposed of correctly and respectfully, while taking into account the sentiments behind them.