One of the country's most crowded temple towns, Guruvayur in Kerala state in south India, has resolved to become a plastic-free zone as a joint
initiative by the civic body and the famous Sree Krishna temple management.
A pledge to keep the bustling township free of all plastic articles was taken by the stake-holders here Thursday under the leadership of Municipal Chairperson Geetha Gopi.
As part of the initiative, which also has support from trading community, political parties and social forums, the temple management would avoid plastic completely and cloth bags will be used for distribution of 'prasadams', instead of
polythene or plastic kits, a temple official said.
The trading community in the town had pledged their total support to the campaign, though there could be some teething troubles for its total implementation, a spokesman of Guruvayur Merchants Association said.
"We consider it as an important task to keep the temple and its premises clean. Through this, we are keen to set an example for any other pilgrim centre in the country," an official in the temple governing body said.
"On an average, 3,000 to 5,000 devotees visit the temple a day making it a major task to keep the temple town clean.
The initiative to keep the town free of plastic can be a major step forward," a hotelier in the town said.
Over the years, the township had also been witnessing a real estate boom with hotels and apartments proliferating in and around, which had made the waste-management a problem for the municipality.