Assessment of Solid and Liquid Waste Inside the Temple Complex and Tanks of Kumbakonam Town in India

International Journal of Civil Engineering

© 2023 by SSRG - IJCE Journal

Volume 10 Issue 6

Year of Publication : 2023

Authors : A. D. Devaanand, Swetha Madhusudhanan, S. Nallusamy

10.14445/23488352/IJCE-V10I6P102

How to Cite?

A. D. Devaanand, Swetha Madhusudhanan, S. Nallusamy, "Assessment of Solid and Liquid Waste Inside the Temple Complex and Tanks of Kumbakonam Town in India," SSRG International Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 10,  no. 6, pp. 9-20, 2023. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23488352/IJCE-V10I6P102

Abstract:

Worshiping is a way of life in India; the state of Tamilnadu in India, being called the Land of Temples, is a prominent religious destination due to the presence of more than 30000 temples, where people visit and make different offerings to the deities, in the form of oil and organic products, with floral offerings being the most common. As a result, temple garbage contains various types of unsegregated wastes which make their way into municipal waste or are abandoned as waste, either into water bodies or left out in the open, generating a variety of environmental concerns. Hence there is a pressing need to address these unorganized waste-handling methods practised in temples in general. Kumbakonam, a significant pilgrim town in Tamilnadu, has been identified to analyze the accumulation and disposal of waste in fourteen temples and five temple tanks. A survey of the wastes accumulated during average days over one month was conducted, and the data of the number of visitors, quantity of offerings for performing daily pujas and the amount of waste disposed of during the same day at night or the next day early morning have been collected, analyzed and recommendations for safe segregation and disposal of wastes have been discussed.

Keywords:

Temple wastes, Liquid wastes, Floral wastes, Oil wastes, Kumbakonam town, Environmental pollution.

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