Orissa chariot festival harming the environment

Environmental degradation is affecting the Gods too--after all, where will the Govt get tonnes of wood required for the Rath Yatra.

Environmental degradation is affecting the Gods too -- after all, where will the government get hundreds of tonnes of wood required for the famous Rath Yatra and all the rituals associated with the annual festival?

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It's a question environmentalists in this Orissa temple town are once again asking as they take stock of the chariot festival of Lord Jagannath that concluded last month.

The most famous day in the city's calendar has millions congregating in this town to participate in the festival -- where three gigantic chariots of Lord Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra roll out from the 12th century temple and wind their way through the town.

Behind the religious fervour and devotion lies an environmental nightmare. The three chariots at heights of above 40 ft require 1,130 big wooden logs from Phasi, Asana, Dhaura, Simuli, Kancha and Tala trees.

"Every year, we have problems in collecting wood for the construction of the chariots, Lord Jagannath's Nandighosh, Balabhadra's Taladhwaja and Subhadra's Padmadhwaja with heights of 45 ft, 44 ft and 43 ft respectively," said a senior temple official.

Humongous quantities of wood are required not just for making the chariots every year but also for the rituals associated with the festival.

It's a vicious circle of conspicuous ecological consumption. Holy food known as 'maha prasad' is prepared in the kitchen of the temples every day to feed the millions of devotees. Fifty-six varieties of food are prepared every day.

The food is prepared on a wooden fire. On a normal day, the temple's kitchen needs about eight tonnes of wood. During the rath yatra, this demand scalates.

"On normal days, we prepare food for 30,000-40,000 people a day but during the festival this goes up to two million," said treasurer of the Suar Mahasabha Bidyanath Mahasuar.

Suara Mahasabha is a body of over 1,000 temple priests who prepare and distribute the offerings of temple deities. "We use casuarinas wood for the preparation of this holy food but it is not available in sufficient quantities," Mahasuar told IANS.

The problem is compounded during the festival when the temple needs an additional 10 tonnes of wood a day for six days, he added. Forest department officials are reluctant to provide the wood and local suppliers are unable to solve the problem, as the wood is not locally available, and anyway charge exorbitant rates.

The non-availability of adequate amounts of wood could seriously jeopardise the way the festival has been celebrated over the years. "We purchase this wood from forest department as well from the local suppliers. But local suppliers charge rates we cannot afford. This year, the state government put out an advertisement in the local newspaper looking for suppliers.

"Only one tender was received which quoted Rs 2,700 per tonne against the standard government rate of Rs 1,900," the temple official said, predicting that the situation could get alarming in the coming years.

Suara Mahasabha brought the problem to the notice of the district administration and the state government. "But they are also expressing their helplessness," said Mahasuar. The cycle of wood consumption doesn't stop at the chariots or the wood needed for cooking.

Only earthen pots are used to prepare the food and distribute it. These pots are prepared by traditional potters who use wood for burning the pots. The potters require 2-3 tonnes of firewood every day. During the yatra, this requirement doubles.

To circumvent the looming crisis, both environmental and religious, the state government launched a Rs 650 million project in 2000 in which the forest department planted trees in a 2,800-hectare area along the Mahanadi river.

But nothing happened.

Said leading wildlife expert Biswajit Mohanty "It was a big joke. None of the plants came up. Ninety percent of the trees planted died due to lack of government care and follow up."

Devotees are worried. "This year the festival may have somehow passed without many problems but in the coming days, we will be facing a crisis. It may hit the gods and his festival," said Ipsita Pratihari, a temple priest.

The alarm bells signaling the urgent need to reclaim the ecological cover and rescue the environment have once again been sounded. And people should be worried, if only for god's sake.