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Monday, Oct 15, 2007
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Kolkata priests chant green mantra

Indrani Dutta

Organisers urged to shun plastics and use solar cookers

— Photo: SUSHANTA PATRONOBISH

welcome initiative: Preparations on at a Puja pandal in south Kolkata, where solar energy is proposed to be used for lighting.

Kolkata: Amid all the hectic celebrations for the Durga Puja festival here, a quiet campaign has begun to make the entire affair environment-friendly. And joining this effort are priests who are now chanting the “go-green” mantra.

Through their association, they are pressing organisers of the community pujas held in the city and its precincts to shun the use of plastics. Alongside, many organisers are now trying to use solar energy for decoration, illumination and also for cooking the rice given as offering to Devi Durga (called Anna Bhog in these parts).

Adding a new dimension is the declaration by the West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WBREDA), the State’s apex agency for renewable energy promotion, that awards will be given to puja organisers for use of energy-efficient lamps and renewable energy.

So how did the priests get involved? Says Somnath Shastri, treasurer of the Bangiya Purohit Sabha (a body of priests in Bengal): “Plastics may be a matter of convenience but they should have no place in a puja offering, whether it be plastic garlands, plates or cups more so since they pollute.”

For long, the association has been pressing for sticking to traditional items such as containers in bell-metal, copper, silver, wood and plantain leaves, shunning the use of plastic, steel and aluminium utensils, he says. The recent positions taken by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation for banning the use of thin plastic bags seems to have strengthened the position taken by the priests.

To what extent the priests’ pleas would be heeded remains to be seen. But many of the puja organisers are trying in their own way to create awareness and adopt environment-friendly practices. By harnessing solar energy and reducing the reliance on fossil fuels, for instance. Apart from this, incandescent lamps are being used to light pandals and streets.

Says Rajat Sengupta of 66 Palli Sarbojanin Puja: “We are all aware of global warming. We felt that by using solar cooker to cook the prasad [20 kg of rice and dal], and through the use of energy-efficient lamps and solar lanterns, we will not only send a message to those who attend the puja, but also save on our electricity bill which, for some organisers, runs into half a lakh of rupees for the puja-week.”

His wish is that initiatives such as these gather pace for, he feels, time is running out.

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