Floral waste at Sabarimala: Devaswom Board, govt to identify suitable land

IN a major move to address the environmental concerns posed by the large quantity of floral waste generated daily at Sabarimala Temple, the state government and the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) is set to launch a first-of-its-kind initiative to convert the floral rejects into value-added projects like agarbattis/incense stick.

- SHAINU MOHAN

A Kanpur-based company has come forward expressing interest in giving eco-friendly solutions to address the floral waste menace.

A meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary with the stakeholders has decided to go ahead with the project. Suchitwa Mission executive director U V Jose told this newspaper that it has been decided during the meeting that the project would be implemented immediately.

"The Devaswom Board authorities have been asked to provide the land for setting up the recycling unit. The government has no financial commitment for the project," said U V Jose.