In a unique Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the temple authorities and a local farmer Shriprakash Raghuvanshi, the temples's average offering of one tonnes per day comprising flowers, leaves, milk, honey, coconut and others will be sourced for manufacturing manure.
"The floral and other bio-degradable offerings like bel patra, dhatura and milk made items were being dumped and this was finding its way into the river Ganga. I then proposed the temple administration to give me all these offerings which can be converted as manure at my farm," Raghuvanshi, who has been awarded twice by the President for his research on developing over 100 seed indigenous varieties, told PTI.
Raghuvanshi will pay a nominal Rs 211 to get the offerings transported to his farm in the city where he has established a bio-degradable and manure manufacturing plant.
According to Raghuvanshi, the Kashi Vishwanath temple, which is one amongst the twelve 'Jyotirlingas' in the country, produces one-two tonnes of offerings every day and this amount increases during festivals and holy months when the quantity goes upto about 5-7 tonnes each day.
Once the offerings are treated at the manure plant, Raghuvanshi plans to sell them at nominal rates to needy farmers.
"The concoction of the temple's offerings is a fine manure material. The farmers and others interested in agricultural activities will surely be interested to procure a manure which was placed before the god and is called pious," Raghuvanshi, who will soon train his men in treating this produce in Madhya Pradesh, said.
The Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh has a similar exercise happening at their place but a government agency is doing it there. We will train there, he said.
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Raghuvanshi has begun creating about 20 cement tanks at his field so that this manure can be kept before treating it in the plant.
"The Banaras Hindu University was treating these offerings for sometime after sourcing it from the temple but because they did not had the required facilities they were not able to handle the huge amount of this raw manure. By converting these offerings into manure, not only farmers will be benefited but Ganga would also be saved," he said.