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About Parisar & history

Parisar is a civil society organization working on lobbying and advocacy for sustainable development. Since its formation in the early 1980s, Parisar has worked in a diverse set of fields such as preservation of heritage, protection of urban bio-diversity, and sustainable agriculture. Since about the turn of the 21st century, its work focuses mainly on sustainable urban transport, since it recognizes that unsustainable transport policies and systems are the foremost threat to urban environment and quality of life. 

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What's new

Pedal Power: Pune Celebrates World Bicycle Day 2024!

In celebration of World Bicycle Day, organisations across Pune, including Parisar, organised a series of activities to promote cycling, sustainability, and community engagement, during the first week of June. Here’s a recap:

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Interesting reads

Plastic Free July and its relevance throughout the year


Landfills are representative of our misplaced development priorities.
Photographer: Jonathan Torgovnik/AJWS | Organisation: SWaCH Pune Seva Sahakari Sanstha.

Plastic Free July is a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution”. The movement was started in 2011 byRebecca Prince-Ruiz (the founder of the Plastic Free Foundation) and a small team in local government in Western Australia, and is now one of the most influential environmental campaigns in the world.” This excerpt from the Plastic Free July website shows that globally, people acknowledge the plastic crisis as well as want to be part of the solution. And why not, as the age we live in is being called the plasticene1 and plastic pollution has become all pervasive. Plastic is found on top of the highest mountains2, deepest of trenches in the ocean3, while plastic (microplastic and nano plastic) has been found even inside human placenta4, blood5, lungs6 and testicles7. Scientists have discovered that micro- and nanoplastics exist in every environmental compartment — from freshwater to soil and air — and in thousands of species, including humans8. A 2019 WWF report suggests that we consume an average of 5g or a debit card size of plastic a week. Toxics Link in 2024, found microplastic in all 10 samples of salt and 5 samples of sugar they studied in the Indian market. Similar studies in the past have shown tap water, bottled water and other food and beverages to contain microplastic. Microplastic has become part of our daily food and drinks.

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Uncovering the Full Scope of Plastic Pollution: Beyond what meets the eye

When we think of pollution, the usual culprits come to mind: air, land, sound, and water pollution, as well as the sight of streets littered with waste. Solutions often seem straightforward—keeping our streets clean and using waste bins to manage waste. However, is this enough to address the multifaceted issue of pollution? Even if we keep our streets clean and use waste bins diligently, what happens next? My understanding of pollution was limited until I attended a transformative training workshop at the Sambhaavnaa Institute in Palampur (Himachal Pradesh), co-organised by the Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) in May 2024.

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Parisar in news

Parisar felicitated as the best NGO in the field of Road Safety in Maharashtra

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) celebrated Road Safety week from 11 to 17 January 2023 across India.

Parisar was felicitated as a best NGO working in the field of road safety in Maharashtra. This award ceremony was held in Mumbai on 11th January 2023.

The event was organised by the Transport Department, Maharashtra State and Mr. Sandeep Gaikwad (Senior Program Associate) represented Parisar to receive the award.

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वाहतूक कोंडी एक गंभीर समस्या!

The following article in Marathi highlights the issue of traffic congestions in the cities across India. It talks about the reasons, impacts, issues of traffic congestion and solutions to resolve it. 

The shortened version of this article was published in Sakal media on 10th October 2022.

वाहतूक कोंडी एक गंभीर समस्या!

भारतातील सर्वच शहरे विशेषत पुणे, मुंबई, दिल्ली, चेन्नई, बंगळूर वाहतूक कोंडीने त्रस्त आहेत. वाहतूक कोंडी ही समस्या दिवसेंदिवस वाढत उग्र रूप धारण करीत आहे. सण-समारंभ, मंत्री महोदयांचे मोर्चे-दौरे, यात अधिक भर घालतात. काही दिवसांपूर्वी पुणे शहरात खुद्द आमदारांना आपल्या शासकीय वाहनातून उतरून वाहतूक सुरळीत करून वाहतूक कोंडीतून स्वतःची सुटका करून घ्यावी लागली. कोणत्याही शहरात पोलिस प्रमुखाची नव्याने नेमणूक झाल्यास नागरिक, संघटना, पत्रकार पोलिस प्रमुखास पहिला प्रश्न विचारतात तो म्हणजे वाहतूक समस्या सोडवण्यास काय उपाययोजना कराल?

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