Students clean Gundicha temple premises in Puri. Picture by Sarat Patra

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 18: Around 300 volunteers today scrubbed clean the graffiti-ridden walls of the Gundicha temple, the abode of Lord Jagannath’s aunt, in Puri town.

Responding to the call of the Sri Jagannath temple administration, they also cleaned the floors of the Gundicha and Nrushingha temples.

The drive was part of the Srikshetra Paribesh Saptaha (Srikshetra environment week), the brainchild of the chief temple administrator and culture and tourism secretary Arabinda Padhee.

The Puri district administration also chipped in by getting in touch with some 40 social service organisations to undertake the cleaning job.

Jagannath temple public relations officer Laxmidhar Puja Panda said: “The week started from the Jagannath temple compound yesterday where around 400 activists cleaned the Koili Baikuntha (the religious cremation ground of the Trinity). Today, around 300 volunteers cleaned the Gundicha and Nrushingha temples.’’

Yugabrata Kar of Barefoot Foundation said: “Not only volunteers of various Puri-based organisations, but also tourists took part in the cleaning work. The project will inspire others to keep Puri clean.’’

Jagruti, an organisation specialising in solid waste management, which was roped in by the Odisha government to keep the Puri beach clean, has also deployed 20 volunteers in the cleaning week, said the organisation’s chief executive Subhendu Mohapatra.