Bhubaneswar: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has appealed to the devotees and visitors, who would turn up for annual Rath Yatra in Odisha’s Puri town, to celebrate the festival in an environment-friendly.
In a video message, Pradhan said final preparations and rituals are underway for the Rath Yatra of sibling deities – Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra – of Jagannath temple in the town. They will come out of their abode to ride their colourfully decorated chariots to go to Masumima temple on annual sojourn during the festival.
He said lakhs of people from across the world are expected to visit Puri during the Rath Yatra scheduled on July 1. They are likely to use plastic bags to carry flowers, prasad and other things. Plastic bottles and glasses will also be widely used for carrying and drinking water.
Similarly, they would use plastic containers for take-away food items. During Rath Yatra, people coming from far and wide will use single-use plastic materials knowingly or unknowingly.
He further said it will have a dangerous impact on our environment. While the water bodies will be flooded with plastic products, the animals unknowingly consume those which would be detrimental to their health.
“We must stop this practice as single-use plastic has emerged as a major environmental problem in the present world. We should take a resolution to not use the single-use plastic items to protect our sensitive and fragile environment which has been facing serious threat from man-made crisis,” Pradhan said.
“On this Rath Yatra, I appeal to you all, particularly conscious and aware youths, to refrain from using the single-use plastic items. If they are compelled to use it for unavoidable reasons, they should try to recycle it instead of littering the streets. Let us put across a green message to the world from the land of the biggest festival of the Lords,” he concluded.
