Pune Inc: Pune mechanical engineer's tryst with bees that caught the attention of PM Modi

Indian Express

2 hours ago

It was just another summer afternoon in 2014, and Amit Godse, a mechanical engineer with a multinational company, was lazing around his flat in Pune, unaware that his life was about to change. It began with people in his housing complex killing bees in a large hive using pest control. Within a fraction of a second, millions of bees were killed. 'At that time, I felt that, as humans, we want honey but not bees. I wondered how long this model of working with bees will sustain,' says Godse.
Steered by the thought that 'someone should do something about this', Godse decided to promote ethical honey harvesting that does not harm bees. He began travelling across India, stayed in various tribal hamlets, and got himself trained in sustainably handling bees. Ultimately, Godse quit his job and started his own company, Bee Basket, in 2016.
The business model of Bee Basket is unique. 'Our major focus is on conservation, creating bee friends, and saving the bees. You might find many beekeepers around India, but you won't find bee rescuers or bee conservationists in India in a big way. The services of Bee Basket are eco-handling of bee hives, conducting workshops, and retailing bee-based products,' explains Godse.
Godse's company mimics nature, where bees are considered pollinators rather than honey producers.
'My purpose was to work with honeybees. At that time, I didn't have any data regarding bees. I just jumped in to save them,' he says.
On May 20, the UN's designated World Bee Day, the office of Ravindra Sathe, Chairman, Maharashtra State Khadi and Village Industries Board, received a call from the office of the Chief Minister. The call came following a query from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) about Godse, who had rescued more than 16,000 bee hives by then.
'The PMO had taken cognisance of Amit Godse's work,' says Sathe.
Godse's initiative received a shout-out from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the 122nd episode of Mann ki Baat in June, the Prime Minister had said, 'The protection of honey bees is not only important for the ecology but also our farming and future generations…. Amit naam ke ek yuva ne tay kiya ki bees ko hatana nahin, unhey bachana chahiye (A young person named Amit decided that one should not kill bees but save them).'
Sathe says that the Maharashtra government is planning to conduct a first-of-its-kind workshop on rescuing bees in Pune and other cities in the state.
'The workshop in Pune will be held in the last week of September. We want to start a movement in Maharashtra as the number of bee hives in urban spaces has been increasing over the years,' says Sathe, adding that when he took over as the chairman two-and-a-half years ago, he was not aware of the nature of bees and their importance. 'Amit is doing remarkable work in bee protection, as most people in cities are not aware of bees,' says Sathe.
After the first year of the launch of the company, Godse started charging people Rs 1,500 to remove bee hives, depending on accessibility. A few people were skeptical about Godse's eco-friendly methods, but most preferred the non-violent way of getting rid of hives. Once word got around, clients began to share his number around.. 'Our company is growing organically,' says Godse, who adds that cities, with balcony gardens and enough water bodies, have bigger bee populations than many villages where use of pesticides and insecticides has destroyed their habitat.
Now, the government of Maharashtra has approached Godse to create a community of bee-friends, ie, people who can rescue the bees. 'Bee-friends could be those who spread awareness about them, provide space in their farms and bungalows for rescued bees, or take care of these insects, among others,' says Godse.
Godse says that if he can train 20-25 people in the Pune district to be good bee rescuers, it would be a good number to begin with. 'In every city or taluka, if we have around 50 bee-friends, then it would be a good start,' he says. The target is to have bee-friends across Maharashtra in two years.
The most challenging aspect of his mission, he says, is that the pest control companies continue to kill bees in a big way. There is also an urgent need to find places to relocate bees, especially wild bees or the dorsata bees, because people feel these bees are very ferocious, states Godse.
'In cities, many times we need to handle very erratic people who want to get rid of bees within seconds, as it happens with pest control. But, bees won't leave that immediately. They require two to three days to leave the place, and people need to give them time,' says Godse. To the detractors, he asks: 'When you eat on a plate, one-third of your food comes with the help of bees only. What will happen if they die?'
Dipanita Nath is interested in the climate crisis and sustainability. She has written extensively on social trends, heritage, theatre and startups. She has worked with major news organizations such as Hindustan Times, The Times of India and Mint. ... Read More