Garbage on Puri beach a day after rath yatra. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

Puri, July 4: The spotlight yesterday was on Maharaj Divya Singhdeo, who swept the chariots of the three deities before they started rolling down the Grand Road.

But today, when Kuni, 60, a retired sweeper of Puri municipality, joined the army of broom and shovel-wielding workers to collect garbage left on the road after the rath yatra, the irony was stark.

“I feel blessed to have this opportunity of sweeping the route of the chariots. For me, this is like serving the Lords,” said the mother of four as she swept the garbage, the bulk of it dumped shoes and slippers, on Grand Road.

“This is what happens the day after the festival and we clean up tonnes of garbage left behind by the multitudes who throng this road to witness the event of the year,” said Kuni.

The crowd leaves behind thousands of shoes and slippers while pulling the chariots. On a rough estimate, every year, more than 30,000 shoes are found abandoned on Grand Road. This year the garbage collectors estimate the number to be around 35,000.

“Nearly six truckloads of abandoned footwear were lifted in the first stage of cleaning. More are being forked out of different nooks and corners of the Bada Danda (Grand Road), as the route of the chariots is known in the town,” said Kuni, who retired from the local municipality in 2006. This year, she has been recruited for the job by a private organisation engaged in garbage lifting and dumping. Kuni gets Rs 90 for a day’s work but her actual reward is not money but the opportunity to serve the Lord. “He is patitapavan. What better way of serving him than this,” she said.

Though workers are engaged in three shifts and the cleaning starts from midnight, the entire cleaning of Bada Danda takes more than a day. “The area in front my shop is full of waste and it will take more than a day to remove the junk,” said Bhagirathi Panda, a local resident.

The Puri Municipality has deployed six tractors for the purpose. Apart from Puri Municipality, some non-government organisations also take a part in the cleaning exercise. The Red Cross has also engaged people in the cleaning drive.

The people of Puri are used to all this after the yatra. “It is obvious that there will be plenty of garbage as 12 lakh devotees visited the place yesterday. But the onus is on the municipality to clear the mess as soon as possible,” said Narendra Mohanty, a local resident.

“This is the only occasion when the municipality is seen working. Otherwise there are heaps of garbage on the same Grand Road all the year round,” said Ananta Narayan Das, another citizen.

Banambar Mohapatra, the health officer of Puri Municipality, said cleaning of garbage was taking place at a brisk pace. “We have been cleaning up the garbage since the midnight yesterday and it will continue till the whole area is clean,” Mohapatra said.