Bhubaneswar: Mahaprasad, the bhogoffered to Lord Jagannath in the Puri temple, will soon go organic if the consultation meeting convened on Wednesday to discuss the issue finalises on the processes and parameters.
The meeting held at Krushi Bhavan under the chairmanship of temple Chief Administrator and Principal Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment Department, Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee discussed on introducing organic rice varieties in the Mahaprasad, beginning with the Kotha Bhoga.
Kotha Bhoga is an elaborate plate of 56 varieties (called chhapan bhog also) of food items prepared in the temple kitchen and offered to the deities in the sanctum sanctorum during lunch time. Plans are on the anvil to extend this to the Bhoga served during the Rath Yatra as well.
Named ‘Amruta Anna,’ scheme, the Mahaprasad prepared will use organic rice and vegetables. For the sale of Mahaprasad under the scheme, a dedicated counter will be opened in the Ananda Bazaar (food court) within the temple premises.
The decision to use organic rice and vegetables in the Mahaprasad of Srimandir has been welcomed by the Suar-Mahasuar Niyogs and the temple administration.
Organic rice varieties like Kalajeera, Pimpudibasa, Jubaraja etc. produced in the state will be included in ‘Amruta Anna’ Mahaprasad. Of these, Kalajeera rice has already achieved the GI tag (Geographical Index), stated a release issued after the meeting.
The release also elaborated on the current rice productivity in Odisha which is ahead of the national average. "This year, Kalajeera rice has been cultivated in 1365 acres of land in Koraput and for the first time, a Kalajeera rice mandi has been opened in Kotpad. Organic certification, subsidies etc. are proposed to promote organic farming. Along with this, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) will be encouraged to produce organic rice through cluster approach and a steering committee will be formed to implement the entire process smoothly," the release stated.
The committee will have representatives from the temple administration, Suara- Mahasuara Niyogs, other producer groups, NGOs and departmental officers as members.
"In the initial phase, the target is to produce organic rice on 100 to 200 acres of land which will provide seeds to encourage more production of organic paddy. These will be used in the 'Amruta Anna' Mahaprasad," the release added.
The meeting was attended by Agriculture Director Prem Chandra Chaudhary, Dean of OUAT Prasannajit Mishra, Puri District Collector Siddhartha Shankar Swain, Administrator Niti, SJTA Jitendra Kumar Sahu, Administrator Development, SJTA Debabrata Sahu, Commander SJTA Sudhakar Patnayak, Suar, MahaSuar President Padmanabh Mahasuar and Secretary Narayan Mahasuar, Sevayats, besides representatives of various organic producer groups, self-help groups and members of the Indian Institute of Rice Research (ICAR-IIRR).
In October last year, the Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan had announced that devotees visiting the Puri Jagannath temple in Odisha will receive free Mahaprasad as part of a new initiative. The minister revealed that the plan will cost the state Rs 14 to Rs 15 crore annually, but the burden will not fall on the government. Instead, donations from the public and the devotees will help run the programme.
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