JEYPORE: The waste left by thousands of Bol Bom devotees during their trek to Gupteswar shrine on Shravan Mondays poses a serious threat to local ecology and the sanctity of the pilgrimage site.
Sources said that over 50,000 Kanwariyas visited the shrine on each Monday of Shravan month, spreading tons of waste in and around the temple, causing pollution.
From Mathpada, 25 kilometers from Gupteswar, devotees littered both sides of the roads and nearby tribal villages with plastic waste. Garbage piled up near the temple areas, spreading air pollution and foul smell over long distances.
The administration’s inadequate sanitation measures compounded the problem. With insufficient toilets, many devotees resorted to open defecation along the entire route, indicating the authorities’ lack of preparedness. Devotees complained about the lack of proper toilets, water, and power supply. “The Endowments department collects `10 per devotee, besides heavy fees for vehicle entry, but does nothing to maintain basic amenities or sanitation,” alleged Gourav Behera, a Kanwariya from Nabarangpur.
Women devotees faced even greater challenges, as there were no proper arrangements for bathing or toilets. “It is shameful that the administration has no proper arrangements for women devotees,” said Minati from Jagadalpur.
Despite several meetings held by the district administration to arrange basic amenities for Shravan Mondays, no effective measures were implemented, alleged the devotees.
On the other hand, the forest department officials requested the administration to ensure proper sanitation in Gupteswar, a bio-diversity area, by enforcing plastic ban during festivals, but this reportedly went unheeded. “Our concern is maintaining the local environment in Gupteswar. We have spread posters and provided dustbins for devotees to use, but the cleaning and maintenance of the temple area fall under the purview of the local administration,” said divisional forest officer of Jeypore, Pratap Behera.
Regarding the sanitation and cleaning issue in Gupteswar, Jeypore tehsildar and endowments officer Monalisha Acharjee stated that the cleaning process is ongoing to remove the garbage spread by the devotees.