Penalty on littering Jagannath temple from November 1, 2016
Strict penalties will be levied on people littering the Jagannath Temple from November 1, 2016, says Aravind Agrawal, Collector, Puri, and Deputy Chief Administrator.
To preserve its glory, the government wishes to clean-up the Jagannath Temple. We need better waste management techniques and tools at the Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri, he adds.
This also favours the Prime Minister’s Swachh Bharat Mission in which the Jagannath Temple of Puri is one of the ten iconic sites selected for a special cleanliness drive.
An important pilgrimage destination for Hindus and part of the Char Dham pilgrimage, the Jagannath Temple is famous for its annual Rath Yatra. The temple attracts over 2.5 million devotees every year.
“Encroachments around the temple have been cleared and a heritage corridor has been made around the temple, the road has been expanded from 12 to 30 feet, decongesting the area” he says.
Considerable work is taking place in and around the shrine but issues such as failing drainage system, deplorable sewerage system among others need immediate attention.
According to a recent report by NEERI, Puri generates about 100 tones of solid waste every day and a lot of it is plastic waste but a substantial chunk of the plastic comes from the Puri beach.
Aravind Agrawal says they “are trying to sensitize the vendors who pollute the beaches by selling things and food items in polythene and plan to impose fines on littering.”
Their aim is to spread awareness to the tourists regarding this but as it is challenging they need more people to support us to keep this holy city clean.
Do You Know: Bhubaneswar is sister city of Cupertino city in California, USA