Larger and more luscious Tirupati Laddoo prasad, which is an all-time most satisfying prasadam ever given in a temple, will now be distributed in polythene-less bags. The prasad was distributed to the devotees after the Tirupati Darshana. Thousands of plastic bags were used to distribute the laddoos to the temple devotees. However, to decrease the overall plastic hazard, Andhra Pradesh Tirupati Balaji Temple has stepped forward and decided to forbid plastic items inside its premises.
Plastic-free Tirupati
A total of 3.54 lakh Laddoos are sold per day in the temple premises and around 70,000 plastic covers were used daily. Seeing plastic as a threat to the environment, the temple authorities have decided to ban all plastic usage including plastic bags, plastic bottles and plastic plates inside its premises.
After plastic was forbidden in Tirupati town on October 1, a plastic ban has now been performed in the Tirupati Balaji temple since November 1. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTP) has now joined hands with Aditya Birla group company Hindalco and Jute Corporation of India (JCI) to manufacture 100% recyclable aluminum foil laminated jute bags for the temple. Hindalco and JCI have previously applied for a license for the process of aluminum foil lamination of jute.
Jute and aluminum bags
JCI had opened a distribution counter for sale of jute foil lamination bags withing the temple premises and surprisingly, 1 lakh meters of the laminated fabric or 3 lakh bags have already been sold over the past two months.
“The jute and aluminum bags for Tirupati are a good option to plastic bags. They are an Indian innovation and an eco-friendly choice for our devotees. With the tremendous demand for prasad, the bags are a good way to decrease plastic pollution,” TTD officials said.
The fact that worries the temple authority is that the new and eco-friendly bags are a bit pricey as correlated to the regular polythene bag or paper wrappers. These jute and aluminum bags will cost a person Rs 25 to 50 per kg.
“One also has to look at the cost of the packaging stuff as it is a significant factor for devotees who have to purchase the covers at the distribution counter,” said a TTD source.
