Bhubaneswar, July 25, 2013: Plagued by a host of maladies like waterlogging, poor waste management and sanitation system around the world famous Jagannath temple in Puri, the 12th century shrine administration is gearing up to learn some 'green' measures from environment experts at Norway.

The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies (OCHS), an independent centre of Oxford University, invited the Jagannath temple administration to participate in an international seminar at Trondheim in Norway on July 26 to discuss environment challenges dogging Hindu holy places. The proposed seminar would be attended by representatives of several other temple managements of the country. OCHS is conducting a research on environment hazards in and around the famous pilgrim places in India, including the Jagannath temple.

"I will give a presentation on the environmental challenges in and around the temple and measures we have taken to address the issue," Jagannath temple's chief administrator Arvind Padhee told TOI.

"There are many challenges. The Norway seminar would be a good learning experience as experts from several states and countries are scheduled to attend the convention," Padhee said.

An OCHS researcher Gopal Patel, who recently camped in Puri, observed that waste management and sanitation were major environment hazards, plaguing the town. "It seems the main issues are waste. This is largely the case in most pilgrim towns in India. I think increased litter collection could be implemented, but the problem needs to be tackled at the source, that is awareness drives," Patel said.

Though the Jagannath temple has earned fame worldwide, heaps of garbage and overflowing drains around the shrine create a visually insulting site. The temple's kitchen, considered the largest in temples across the country, generate nearly 80 tonnes of garbage every day. "In rainy days, sewer from clogged drains comes close to the temple entrance. Due to poor drainage system, the area around the temple gets waterlogged," said Bhagaban Pujanpanda, a priest at the shrine.

Padhee admitted that the temple body would face a herculean task during the 2015 Nabakalebar festival of Lord Jagannath.

"Since more than 20 lakh pilgrims are expected to throng the town during Nabakalebar, it will create lots of environment problems. We are working on to improve the waste management system and storm water disposal system at the earliest," said Padhee, also the revenue divisional commissioner.

The National Green Tribunal is hearing on a petition relating to environment hazards at the Puri temple.

Source: Times of India, July 25, 2013