Giri Pradakshina to go ‘Eco Vizag’ friendly
Civic Chief CM Saikanth Varma sharing details of Giri Pradakshina
Visakhapatnam: For decades, the 32-km-long ‘Giri Pradakshina’ has been organised annually in Visakhapatnam.
Going beyond routine arrangements, this year, the stress is more on eco-friendly initiatives. Ahead of the commencement of the festival scheduled on July 2, Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation is considering concerted efforts on ensuring the festival is in line with its coveted campaign ‘Eco Vizag.’
As a part of the major step, the corporation banned single-use plastic en-route the Giri Pradakshina. Likewise, the focus is also on improving the facilities provided during the festival. Along with adults, children circumambulating will get a tag for their safety purpose. In case if they were lost in the crowd, they can be easily traced with the help of the tag.
In order to make identification of facilities more apparent for the devotees participating in the festival, the Civic Chief says that four flags will be introduced at various points. “Blue colour flag will be used for drinking water, white colour for toilets, green for dustbins and red for medical assistance.
Each flag will be installed up to an extent of 10-ft-long so that it would be quite visible for the devotees. Replacing water sachets in tune with plastic-free celebrations, drinking water will be facilitated at 100 different points along the route,” shares CM Saikanth Varma, Municipal Commissioner.
Like every year, NGOs and voluntary associations are chipping in to provide refreshments at various points along the Giri Pradakshina route. However, it would be an impending task for the NGO representatives and GVMC staff to clear the litter strewn along the route the next day.
To overcome this, dustbins will be lined up at several points for the convenience of the devotees and they will be represented by green flags.
A host of meetings were held between the NGO representatives and the civic officials to recommend the usage of paper and leaf cups and plates and shun plastic during the festival.