Residents lend a hand to clean the temple premises .. Telegraph pictures

The makeover process that got underway at the famous Rajrappa temple in the middle of May has now gone a step ahead with the second phase of activity being flagged off on June 13.

Located 80km away from Ranchi on the Ramgarh-Chitrapur road, at the confluence of the Damodar and Bhairavi rivers, the Chhinnamastika temple is undergoing a complete facelift with the support of locals — considered the primary stakeholders in maintaining the religious sanctity of the site — and the state tourism department.

As part of the ambitious project, the state tourism department has embarked on an awareness programme — Clean Rajrappa Campaign — a part of the government’s ongoing Clean India Campaign. The programme has been divided in two phases to sensitise locals. The first phase kicked off on May 13 and got over on June 12.

The second phase, which started on June 13, will continue till September 12. Before embarking on the campaign, tourism department officials carried out a survey to tap stakeholders covering 21 localities of the area spread over three panchayats.

In the first phase, 10 local artistes and a motivator were employed on daily wage basis to generate awareness about keeping the temple premises clean through nukkad nataks, folk songs and public address system. Later, the department officials took the help of the stakeholders or permanent residents of Rajrappa, including barbers, hotel owners, vegetable vendors, local priests, mahila mandals et al to keep the place clean.

During the first phase itself, officials banned the use of plastic and thermocol with effect from June 5, World Environment Day. Also done away with was a nearby piggery to maintain the sanctity of the place, as the waste generated was being thrown into the Bharavi River. Liquor sale was stopped too.

“Surprisingly, the stakeholders are carrying out the campaign sans our help, as they also feel that this place should be kept neat and clean. By the end of the second phase, this place will be one of the most visited religious places,” said one of the motivators roped in by the tourism department, Manoj Dangi.

As part of the second phase, the focus is on motivating schoolchildren to do their bit, distributing pamphlets among tourists, egging on stakeholders with their campaign.

“We have video-taped the campaign, which will be soon uploaded on our website, so that those people who have stopped visiting the place will start coming back,” said Dangi.

State tourism department director Siddharth Tripathy sounded enthusiastic as well. “It will be a historical achievements for us. The first phase has brought about positive results for all to see,” he said, adding that so far this year, nearly 22 lakh tourists had visited the place.

Tripathy said now all shopkeepers were using bio-degradable bags after the use of plastic and thermocol were banned.

“There are 512 small shops located in and around the temple premises and after the first phase, 507 shop owners had started using eco-friendly bags,” he said.