Bhubaneswar: Even though there are orders not to carry plastic and polythene material inside the Lingaraj Temple premises here, the rules were flouted with impunity Monday.
However, the plastic and polythene bags were not used to carry ‘prasad’. On the other hand, the hundreds of devotees who thronged the temple Monday used the bags to offer water to the lord. They then disposed off the material within the temple premises itself forgetting the fact that it will lead to sewerage problem.
With checking at the main gate being lax, many devotees were seen entering the shrine premises carrying water in plastic pots.
“Devotees carrying water in plastic pots should be stopped at the entrance itself,” observed some local residents.
In some isolated cases, devotees however, were stopped from carrying plastic material inside the temple premises. But those were few and far between as most of the visitors were able to hoodwink the guards and carry plastic material inside.
“If plastic items are banned inside the temple, selling of plastic pots at shops near the temple and Bindu Sagar Tank should also be discouraged,” observed Darakhasta Sinha, a devotee hailing from Bolangir.
Echoing his feelings, Sunil Bag, also from Bolangir, said they are purchasing plastic items from the shops near the temple. “How an outsider will know about the ban on plastic items unless the shopkeepers tell them. They are selling these banned items instead,” pointed out Bag.
Environmentalists and local people have urged the temple administration to take steps to ensure that the temple turns into a plastic free zone.
PNN
