the goan I network
MAPUSA
Hundreds of devotees thronged the Shree Bodgeshwar temple at Mapusa as the plastic-free zatra as decided by the Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) and Goa State Solid Waste Management Corporation (GSSWMC) got underway on Sunday.
Vendors selling bananas, flowers, stall operators and sweet mart operators were given fibre bags and asked not to use plastic bags. The GSSWMC also distributed paper and cloth bags made by self-help groups.
Devotees offering bananas, coconuts were provided with steel plates by the temple committee. MMC workers were engaged to lift garbage from the temple premises and fair.
Speaking to The Goan, a vendor selling bananas, Vitthal Tamboskar lauded the efforts of the temple committee and authorities to make Bodgeshwar zatra plastic free. "We were given fibre bags and have been asked to stop using plastic. Neither us nor the devotees faced any inconvenience due to the ban on plastic bags," he added.
A sweet mart operator, Vasant Shet Falari said the temple committee and GSSWMC had notified them earlier to stop usage of plastic bags. "We were given fibre bags by the MMC and this is a good initiative," he added.
The Zatra started with annual Satyanarayan Puja performed by the temple committee vice-treasurer Siddhesh Divkar along with 25 Mahajans.
Silver jubilee of the installation of Bodgeshwar statue was celebrated and the newly constructed Tulsi Vrindavan, Ghumti of Kankeshwar and Kaphreshwar were inaugurated. Deputy Speaker Micheal Lobo and other political leaders also visited the temple.
