BHUBANESWAR: The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and Agriculture department on Thursday launched the Amruta Anna Yojana under which, paddy will be grown in an organic manner to be used in cooking of Kotha Bhoga at Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri.
In the first phase, rice will be cultivated organically at Niali in Cuttack district, and Koraput and Padampur in Bargarh district. A total of 500 acre land will be used in these three clusters this year and will be increased at a later stage.
Farmers will be sent for exposure visits and training in organic farming. They will also receive incentives for growing the organic rice. SJTA will procure the rice from them, informed principal secretary of Agriculture department and SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Padhee. “There will be no use of chemicals in the cultivation process. Only green manure will be used,” he said.
The Kotha Bhoga prepared using organic rice will also be available at the 12th-century shrine’s Ananda Bazaar. During Rath Yatra this year, ‘Amruta Anna’ was used for the first time to prepare Kotha Bhoga for Lord Jagannath during the deity’s stay at the Adapa Mandap in Shree Gundicha temple.
Organic Kala Jeera rice, moong dal and biri dal were sourced from Koraput for the purpose. Since then, all the ‘pithas’ for Kotha Bhoga of the Trinity are being prepared using organic rice, said a Suar-Mahasuar Nijog member. Organic rice varieties like Kalajeera, Pimpudibasa and Jubaraja, which are grown in the state, will be used for the preparations.