Youths attempt to hold plastic-free temple fest in Udupi

UDUPI: Clean Trasi - Maravanthe Project- a group of like-minded youth engaged in beach cleaning activities is ensuring that the Sri Brahmalingeshwara Temple, Maranakatte festival in Kundapur taluk, is plastic-free. The festival is being held from January 14 to 16.
Nagaraj Acharya, a mechanical engineer, working for an MNC in Bengaluru and founder of the project told TOI that this is part of the Clean Trasi-Maravanthe Project- which was launched during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"With work from home, most of the youth had returned to our native from Bengaluru. Since there was no physical activity, once the restrictions were eased, I started jogging. That was when I noticed the plastic waste on the shores and along with like-minded individuals (about 45 persons) in the age group 20-35 years, we launched the clean beach drive. We even had plans to hold plogging. However, since this is one of the biggest festivals in the town, we decided to try and make it a plastic-free one to reduce the plastic waste being generated," he said.
The team started working on this almost a month ago. They aggressively launched social media campaigns and organised a jatha.
"We requested people not to carry plastic bags when visiting the temple, instead, use cloth bags or baskets for 'Hannu kayi' to be offered at the temple. We were lucky that Conscious Bharat, from Bengaluru, gave 10,000 bio-degradable bags and our volunteers handed over the same to those devotees, who come with plastic bags," Acharya said.
"In addition, we have placed at least 70 dustbins with the support of Solid Liquid Resource Management (SLRM), Vandse, and around 50 NSS and NCC volunteers from Bhandarkar's college, Kundapur have joined the cause. About 1.5 lakh people visit the temple during the festival. We believe that there has been a reduction in plastic use by almost 50%," he added.
Meanwhile, the team has put up several selfie spots with messages such as 'Say no to plastic bags'.
They have also put up a stall called 'Hasiru vasi', where eco-friendly products such as paper pens, products made from bamboo, coconut shells, and cotton bags are sold. The team also offered buttermilk to devotees in coconut shells.
Requesting more volunteers to come forward and join the cause, he said, "Be part of the solution by using eco-friendly products for a better tomorrow."