ISSN 0970-8669 Review

iniature are used today as children’s Mtoys during the Odia festival of Jatra. literally means a ‘Voyage to Bali, and celebrates the ancient maritime tradition and the connection with Bali. During the ceremony, men, women and children dressed up in traditional costumes launch tiny made from banana peels, paper or Solapitha with lighted lamps inside, and Odia women perform the rite of ‘ Bandana’. The festival is similar to the ‘Masakapan Ke Tukad’ festival of Bali, and to the ‘Loi Krathong’ festival of Thailand, both of which involve ritualistic floating of model boats around the same time of year. Lakhs of people

Boita Bandana Festival and Water Pollution

Dr. Manas Ranjan Senapati

float miniature thermocol boats in the , friendly.There is no regulation for sale of paper Kathajodi, Bai, Budhabalang etc rivers including boats with thermocol has been formulated till date. Bindusagar and Narendra religious ponds to The tonne of non-biodegradable solid celebrate , giving a little thought to waste, lying scattered all over the rivers and water it that such practice would pose a threat to the bodies, covers their surface area and checks the water bodies.The non-biodegradable miniature sunlight. This disturbs the oxygen cycle process boats could pollute the stagnant water bodies. and adversely affects acquatic flora and fauna. On the other hand, the celebrations on the But, the Pollution Control Board does not occasion of Purnima have exposed the have any provisions in order to curb the use of rivers to a grave pollution threat as the boats, non-biodegradable materials in making of which are all made of thermocol, are miniature boats for . Environmental biodegradable objects that do not decompose activists want the Board to formulate a rule that easily. Papers also being soaked in water can would check the sale of boats that are not eco- cause green house gas methane emissions.

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Earlier, eco-friendly plantains and Sholapith (a milky white sponge wood) were used. Over the years, these gave way to boats made of thermocol. The Sholapith, which was earlier used, is a completely natural alternative and does not contribute to water pollution. Shola is a plant that grows in marshy areas. The Shoalpith is the cortex or core of the plant. Experts would remove the outer hard brown skin to get the inner soft material which can be made decorative. But, thermocol is artificially produced in the laboratory. As Sholapith is not easily available these days, thermocol is Dr. Manas Ranjan Senapati, Professor and Head, widely used in making boats. We must ponder Department of Chemistry, Trident Academy of Technology, -751024, E-mail : over this issue while celebrating our festivals. [email protected].

Migratory Birds in

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