Floral waste of Ayodhya temples to produce exotic itra!

Home to almost 10,000 temples producing 10 to 15 quintals of floral waste everyday, Ayodhya will soon be recycling this bio degradable refuse into exotic itra (traditional natural perfume), incense sticks and even scented havan ingredients.

The move will not only help in disposal of floral waste but also generate employment for locals. Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University in Faizabad, which has prepared a detailed proposal, has roped in Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre (FFDC), Kannauj, for this purpose.

Director, FFDC, Shakti Vinay Shukla said, “We are in touch with the university and things will be formalised shortly.”

Vice chancellor of the varsity Prof Manoj Dixit said, “We have already prepared a draft for signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with FFDC and their director is likely to visit our university anytime soon to formalise things.”

He further said, “Ayodhya is home to a large number of small and big temples. But there is no proper arrangement in place for disposal of floral waste. We approached the FFDC to groom university students and local youths with technical know how, which will help in generating employment and boost the economy.”

Jaswant Singh, professor in Environmental Sciences department of the varsity who is in touch with FFDC, said there were nearly 10,000 big and small temples in Ayodhya that accounted for 12 to 15 quintals of floral waste daily. “In Ayodhya, large amount of flowers and leaves are being used daily in temples and for other religious practices that are later disposed into the Saryu river resulting in water pollution,” he said.

“The idea is to use discarded flowers and leaves by traditional methods for making fragrance and flavour (itra, incense sticks, etc) with the help of local people and the finished product will be bought back by the temples of Ayodhya,” he further said.

Shakti Vinay Shukla said, “The university has come up with a good idea. We are looking forward to engaging university students for this purpose. This will promote entrepreneurship among local people who can become self-sufficient.”

The proposed MoU also talks about developing a centre for fragrance and flavour at Ayodhya- Faizabad with mutual consultation of both the institutions and under the direction of Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre (FFDC), Kannauj.

Another key area is to carry out a joint research programme. Both the university and the institute will look to work for joint and collaborative research and consultancy in the thrust areas of research related with fragrance and flavour.