Palkhi in Pune: Green start to wari as warkaris shun plastic bane

Wari, the annual pilgrimage to Pandharpur, started on a green note as warkaris (pilgrims) shunned plastic, which has been banned across the state.

Considering the ban on plastic, warkaries used cloth bags to carry their belongings this year.“There were 344 registered dindis and over 100 unregistered dindis at Dehu on Thursday,” said Usha Chavan, Dehu sarpanch, adding that there are many people who are volunteering and overseeing that there is very limited use of plastic in the area.

Dehu has a strict no plastic usage policy, which began two years ago when the Indrayani river was choking because of floating plastic carry bags. “We do not allow any plastic carry bags and recommend warkaris to adhere to minimum usage of plastic bags,” said the Chavan.

Warkaris welcomed the plastic ban and restricted themselves from using plastic utensils or plastic bags.

Dindi number 54 from Gangakhed is a 54-year-old dindi with 167 people walking this year. Most of the warkaris believe that being part of the wari is like performing a service. “We are aware of the plastic ban in the state and we have witnessed the harm it can cause to animals. We do not use plastic in our dindi, in fact, we are carrying steel plates and glasses along with the other utensils in our food truck,” said Gangadhar Maslekar, dindi team leader.

Another dindi from village Fulgaon in Khed Taluka, dindi number 112, is 50-year-old and is walking with 220 warkaris in their group. Led by Shashikant Khule, a member of the gram panchyat, they were singing prayers praising the lord. They tweaked their prayer songs and added a social message regarding the benefits of limited use of plastic.