To Keep Water Bodies Clean, This Jharkhand Temple Is Making 'Organic Gulaal', Incense Sticks From Offerings
|The dried part of the flowers is processed comprising the local women and then made into organic gulaal and other colours. At the same time, the dried belpatra is used in making incense sticks after processing the dried leaves.
Holi is around the corner, and like every other festival, we get so caught up in celebrations that we forget about our environment. This time to keep surrounding and festivities at the same bar, the Ramgarh district has taken the initiative to manufacture organic gulaal (Holi Colours) and incense sticks utilising the flowers and fruits offered at Rajrappa temple.
These offerings to Goddess Chinnamastika were disposed into the intersection of the Domodar and Bhairavi rivers located near the temple premises.
Accumulation Of Temple Offerings
Thousands of devotees visit the temple every day, resulting in tons of offerings, including flowers, fruits such as belpatra, bangles, aalta (red dye), and several other things. All of it finds a place at the intersection of the two rivers, resulting in polluting these water bodies.
The Ramgarh Deputy Commissioner Madhavi Mishra stated that the district took up the initiative under project Matangi by utilising the District Mineral Foundation funds.
Aim Of The Initiative
The project aims to segregate the temple offerings, the flowers and belptara and dry them up.
The dried part of the flowers is processed comprising the local women and then made into organic gulaal and other colours. At the same time, the dried belpatra is used in making incense sticks after processing the dried leaves.
Mishra said, "Once the production is up, we will tie-up with Brand Palash of Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS) for branding and marketing," quoted The New Indian Express.
Generates Employment
The production of incense sticks began with the first lot of gulaal and other colours being readied before Holi. Mishra informed that currently, about 25 local women had been employed in the project.
She said that a semi-mechanised system was selected for production for creating livelihood opportunities for people already employed in the temple complex for cleaning and other menial jobs.
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