If it is boom time for the priests of various Shiva shrines across the State then Ganja peddlers are not far behind. During the Shrawan month, thousands Shiv devotees have embarked on a pilgrimage and the Ganja peddlers are eyeing to make brisk business, given the fact that most devotees take Ganja to add a bit of pleasure to their trip.
Taking water to pour on a Shiv linga by covering a long distance has been gaining much popularity over the years in the State. Called as Bol Bom devotees, thousands of people observe the penance. What is interesting about their journey is they wear special clothes and use other colourful materials to fetch water from rivers and carry it to far-off Shiv temples by walking barefoot. During the journey, the devotees take a puff of Ganja for relaxation. A section of Bol Bom devotees also smoke Ganja as the Prasad of lord Shiva.
Shyama Sundar Behera, a devotee, said in order to cover a distance of 110 km for two days from Kendrapada to the lingaraj temple, a devotee buys Ganja worth Rs 300-400. Similarly, a Ganja peddler of the township area confided that his business has been quite good in last 15 days as he is able to sell over 7-8 kg of Ganja per day. “As per the Hindu myths and legends, it is believed that lord Shiv takes Ganja. So even if it is called a contraband, the devotees consider it as sacred and Bhog of the lord. So, they smoke Ganja as a sacred act to propitiate the lord,” a devotee said. A Ganja peddler, without wishing to be named, said that he was expecting to earn a profit of Rs 50,000 to Rs 1lakh in the auspicious shrawan month. He added that hardly does a drug peddler manage to get as much profit as is earned during the Shrawan month.