THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Travancore Devaswom Board has banned the use of arali flowers (Oleander) for offerings involving human consumption. The TDB’s direction to 1,250-odd temples under its fold is to avoid the flower for blessing nivedyam, archana prasadam and theertham. There is no ban on using the flower for other rituals and decorative purposes.
TDB president P S Prasanth told reporters that the board will not hesitate to issue a blanket ban if scientific reports confirm the toxicity of the flower. “The chemical analysis reports are yet to be out. If the report confirms toxicity or if the government or health department issues a directive, we will stop using it for all purposes,” he told mediapersons here on Thursday.
The TDB has directed the temples to use tulsi, pichi, mulla, jamanthi, thechi or rose for blessing items for human consumption. Sub-group officers and administrative officers of the temples have been directed to implement the ban with immediate effect.
The Malabar Devaswom Board will also issue a similar directive shortly, said its chairman M R Murali. The devaswom board’s decisions came in the wake of the death of a woman hailing from Haripad in Alappuzha district, reportedly after inadvertently chewing a bit of the plant’s leaf. Her death, however, did not have any connection with temples or rituals. But following the incident, several devotees raised safety concerns since the flowers used while blessing offerings would be unintentionally consumed by people.
So far, the devaswom boards are reluctant to impose a blanket ban on the flower because it is low-priced and abundantly available. Most of the temples use this flower for rituals like archana, poomoodal, niramala and pushpabhishekam where large quantities are required.