Plastic bags in temples: Muzarai department fixes Rs 10 fine

Bengaluru: Next time, if you enter a temple affiliated to the state Muzarai department carrying a plastic bag to offer coconuts and flowers to the deity, you may have to cough up Rs 10 as the fine!

According to the latest circular published in the state gazetteer by the Revenue department as part of the Muzarai department’s initiative to make the temples owned by the department into Swachh Temples, this Rs10 fine proposal has already been implemented! According to the proposal, temple authorities can even impose a fine of Rs 10 on those devotees who fail to maintain cleanliness inside the temple premises. Separate cash receipts will be issued for those who pay the fine amount.

As expected both religious leaders as well as common devotees welcome the new decision. According to Mr. Nagaraj Deekshit, a priest, plastic waste is one of the major headaches in all the temples.

“Rs 10 is a very meager amount and it is more like a symbolic warning to the devotees who come with plastic materials. But the need of the hour is awareness among all the devotees. A clean temple attracts more devotees besides creating a spiritual atmosphere within the temple premises,” he signed off.

According to the officials at the state revenue department, this Swachh Temple concept, which was directly inspired by the ambitious Swachh Bharat Mission of the union government, was first implemented in the Bengaluru city limits on pilot basis in November 2014. Now a year later, this has been extended to all the temples across the state. “All the temples, including A, B and C category temples, are directed to follow the new penalty norms,” informed an officer.

According to the decision taken by the department, even the use of Chinese cotton bags are banned in the temple premises. These Chinese cotton bags are widely used as an alternative to the plastic carry bags. It has been observed that these Chinese cotton bags are also not biodegradable.