The Somnath Temple Trust is at the forefront of the environment conservation to deal with the challenge of global warming

Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE) is India’s solution to the challenges posed by climate change. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lucidly expounded the principles of LiFE as a counter to global warming. This is aimed to be a people-led mass movement. At several global forum meetings, he has called upon the world leaders to embrace the principles of LiFE to sensitise the world population to adopt lifestyle in sync with nature.

What PM Modi speaks, he truly practices also, and demonstrates by translating words into actions. He is the chairperson of the Somnath Temple Trust. The Somnath Temple is India’s historical and cultural identity, which withstood several attacks by barbaric Afghan invaders. It was befitting for the nation that the temple was restored to its original grandeur soon after India gained Independence with the collective efforts of the people from across the country.

Solid and wet waste constitutes grave challenges to water bodies, including rivers and seas. The rivers on whose banks cities came up turned into gutters on account of unchecked flow of solid and wet waste. The Yamuna in Delhi stinks with the anarchy of the stakeholders who made the pristine water body into a dump yard of solid and wet waste.

LiFE principles are most relevant for the people, institutions, religious bodies and others to make changes to become climate correct. The Somnath Temple Trust, working under the direction of PM Modi, has demonstrated an actionable roadmap, which is worthy of replication by all institutions, including the religious bodies across the country, to become a net zero emission centers of solid and wet waste.

Indeed, 16 per cent of the waste flowing into the water bodies is accounted for by flowers only with origins in the religious places. The solid and wet waste from the religious bodies constitutes significant portions of the pollution in the river bodies. This makes the roadmap of the Somnath Temple Trust worthy of wider assimilation and adoption.

The Somnath Temple Trust reuses 26 lakh litres of sewage every month. The sewage is treated by the treatment plants established around the temple premises. This is part of the guidelines of the trust prepared on the direction of PM Modi for water conservation. The trust has codified parameters of conservation efforts of water with close monitoring.

Between December 2022 and January 2023, the trust not only treated a total of 52 lakh litres of polluted water but made their use in watering the plants and plantation efforts. Thus, the trust is expanding the green cover around the temple, while also ensuring that the environment protection gains strength from the sewage treatment facilities.

It’s worth mentioning that on the direction of and close monitoring by PM Modi the Somanth Temple Trust has established sewage treatment plants at guest houses, visitors’ felicitation centres, promenades, walkways and several Bhavans. Such plants together are treating a total of 26 lakh of sewage for reuse in the orchards.

The scale is getting bigger. In the month of January, the sewage of the Maheshwari guest house was 6.78 lakh litres, which was treated for reuse. Ram Mandir accounted for 23,000 litres and Sagar Darshan Bhavan had the share of 7.84 lakh litres. Yatri Suvidha Kendra had 4.01 lakh litres, Choupati accounted for 5.08 lakh litrees in the total volume of 26.05 lakh litres.

Sewage is no longer flowing into water bodies and seas but used in the five parks, temple premises, and orchards developed by the trust. The reuse of the treated water is thus contributing to the greening efforts and also boosting the environment, besides spreading awareness to millions of pilgrims coming to the temple to learn the principles of LiFE.

The Somnath Temple Trust is now at the forefront of environment conservation to deal with the challenge of global warming. India is playing a lead role in efforts for climate mitigation. India has been a vocal voice at the Paris Accord, COP-27 at Sharm el-Sheikh by offering an actionable action agenda before the global community. By establishing an international solar alliance with headquarters in India, PM Modi has showcased the Indian way of dealing with the crisis. India under the leadership of PM Modi is already making a quantum jump in tapping the renewable sources of energy.

The Katra Railway Station, which is the principal destination for the people visiting Vaishno Devi Temple is fully solar-powered. Taking its cure, other railway stations in the country are also embracing solar power to meet the needs of electricity. A village in Gujarat recently was declared fully solar powered. Roads and canals are being tapped for exploiting solar power. Temples and other religious bodies along with households are adopting solar power for their captive consumption. This was possible after PM Modi when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat showed the way by demonstrating the use of solar power.

The sewage treatment plants in addition to tapping the renewable sources of energy are clearly the ways a symbiotic bond between the people and nature could be established. This is the true manifestation of LiFE principles.

‘Nirajal’ of the Somnath Temple has become a carrier of multi-layered cleanliness efforts being carried out by the trust. Nirajal is being offered to the people as Somganga. The trust is distributing the offerings used for ‘abhishek’ of Somnath Mahadev after being fully treated for the purity purposes of the devotees in bottles. The trust has fully banished the use of plastic in line with the government’s ban on the single use plastic. Somganga and nine-step filtered ‘Charnamrit’ can be taken away by the devotees from the temple. In a short span of time, the Somnath Temple Trust has set an example which, if adopted by all, may prove a game-changer in the country. The Government is laying stress on the revival of the water bodies in the country. It has carried out deep cleaning of the seabed with the participation of the Coast Guard, which helped in retrieving tonnes of solid waste, which were lying at the base of the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal. Several Beaches have been cleaned with the participation of people and civil society.

PM Modi’s call for the revival of 75 ‘Amrit Sarovars’ in 75 districts in the country is also going to contribute in a comprehensive manner for the adoption of the LiFE principles for the healthy relationships between the people and nature. He has shared several anecdotes in his monthly radio broadcast ‘Mann ki Baat’ of the people-led campaigns in the rural parts of the country where the collective individual efforts have helped in reviving the water bodies and cleaning the ponds, rivers and rivulets.

The achievements of the Somnath Temple Trust complement the efforts of people all across the country in adopting the LiFE principles. It will be worthwhile if the example of the Somnath Temple Trust is studied and accepted by all the stakeholders.

(The author is a policy analyst)