Mandal members say the teardown is almost as demanding as the setup
The biggest costs are labour and transportation, which are handled by the decorator,” Mahesh Suryavanshi, treasurer of Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati Trust, said. Since our theme was environment-based, we used a lot of eco-friendly material and will also be donating the plants used in the pandal,” working president Nilesh Vakil said. It can take up to a week to remove the entire structure,” Praveen Pardeshi from the mandal said.
“It takes almost a month to dismantle our entire structure. Most of the work happens at night. At Guruji Talim Mandal, dismantling involves specialised teams handling everything from structural removal to electrical systems and the mandap itself. “It is not a one-day exercise.
Subhash Sarpale, who works with more than 20 mandals, said his crews would remain occupied for the next 7-10 days. “Around 70-80 workers are involved in dismantling, transporting, warehousing and scrapping material. Powering the operation is a largely migrant workforce, with nearly 80% of labourers coming from Kolkata and neighbouring regions specifically for festival-related contracts.
Some décor has to be discarded, while reusable items are stored for future use,” he said. Vendors provide food and accommodation,” a worker from Kolkata said. For decorators, the days immediately after visarjan are among the busiest of the year. Moving from city to city as work demands, they spend long hours taking apart the grand spectacles that define Pune’s Ganeshotsav. “We are paid based on the number of days and hours worked.