Source: Aajtak Hindi Channel
PURI, ORISSA, INDIA, June 13, 2002: Like every year the construction of chariots is at peak in Puri, this year it is as well. But the change in tradition this year is that this time even old wood is also being used for construction. The government has banned the unrestrained cutting of trees this year. For the rath yatra (chariot procession) three chariots are made and around 3,000 trees are cut every year for this purpose. This cutting of trees is having an adverse affect on the availability of trees in this area. To avoid this, this time forty percent old wood is being used for the construction of the chariots. According to Maharaja Divya Singhdev, chairman of the Puri Temple Management Committee, most of the wood used in building the chariots goes to the temple kitchen. The Orissa government believes that in the times to come there will not be any shortage of wood for the purpose of building the chariots. They have initiated a plan under which trees have been planted for this purpose in an area of 7,000 hectares. A bank has also been floated to preserve the wood gifted by devotees.