INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Volume 3, No 6, 2013
© Copyright by the authors - Licensee IPA- Under Creative Commons license 3.0
Research article
ISSN 0976 – 4402
Pilgrimage and the environment: Challenges in a pilgrimage centre in
Maharashtra, India
Priyanka Patange1, Srinithivihahshini N.D2, Mahajan D.M3
1-Research Student, Department of Environmental Management, Bharathidasan University,
Trichy, Tamilnadu, India.
[email protected]
2-Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Management, Bharathidasan University,
Trichy, Tamilnadu, India.
3- Associate Professor, Department of Botany, Waghire College, Saswad, Dist. Pune,
(University of Pune) Maharashtra, India.
[email protected]
doi: 10.6088/ijes.2013030600043
ABSTRACT
The land of Maharashtra is blessed by the holy stay of many a great Saints and Spiritual
Leaders. Some of the most important pilgrim destinations in Maharashtra are Pandharpur,
Tulajapur, Shirdi, Alandi, Dehu, Ashta Vinayak, etc. These pilgrim towns attract large
number of pilgrims from various parts of the country. However, typically most of these
places are small towns/villages with populations ranging about a few thousands and hence
lack the necessary infrastructure to cater to the large number of pilgrims visiting them every
year. As a result, this has put lot of stress on the local natural resources and there has been a
steady degradation of the local environmental conditions. Large scale movement of visitors
during pilgrimages has a high potential to influence the environment in sacred sites. In
traditional pilgrimage, environmental effects are governed by seasonality and are limited over
time and space. This paper argues that significant changes in scale, frequency and character
of such visitation over the past few decades reflect new pressures on the environment of
sacred sites. This paper explores causal linkages between different factors that shape the
environment in a pilgrimage centre.
Keywords: Pilgrimage, environment, Maharashtra.
1. Introduction
Pilgrimage as a form of travel provides opportunities for people to visit sacred places and is a
feature common to almost all societies. Pilgrimage travel to pilgrimage centers is reported to
have phenomenally increased in the past few decades due to increased accessibility and
improvement in transport infrastructure.) Though pilgrimage is primarily an individually
motivated journey informed by personal faith, it also is a mass movement when viewed in
terms of magnitude and frequency of such travel.A large proportion of such journeys are
motivated by ‘religious needs’ but exhibit touristic aspects whereas many tourist journeys
have an explicit spiritual component (Agarwal, A. 2000).) The scholarly discussion on
discerning similarities and differences between the two forms of travel, pilgrimage and
tourism, that has dominated the literature, seem to be inadequate in explaining the nature of
such travel.
Received on March 2013 Published on August 2013
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The link between pilgrimage travel and the environment of pilgrimage centres has received
little, if any, attention in the literature on either pilgrimage or the environment. Especially in
the Indian context, a large body of literature on pilgrimage is primarily anthropological and
discusses its religious, cultural, social and economic dimensions. A few studies present
compelling emotional accounts of environmental degradation in pilgrimage centers, but are
limited by their focus on contrasting it with the mythological or historical image of the sacred
site.
1.1 Pilgrimage and the environment: The Indian context
Pilgrimage in its Indian expression, ‘tirtha yatra’, means ‘undertaking a journey to river ford,
and in common parlance refers to visitation to sacred places known as tirthas that symbolise
four connotations: a route, riverbank, sacred site and religious territory related to divine
activities (Singh, 2006). A majority of pilgrim centers in India are closely associated with
nature, their locations being near flowing water, mountaintops and forests. People visit
pilgrimage centers for two broad categories of reasons: spiritual pursuits and reasons of
mundane existence. In line with such motives, pilgrims engage in certain rituals such as
pradakshina or circumambulation (the clockwise circumambulation of a holy place or of
several tirthas is believed to bestow religious merits), snana or the holy bath (an essential
purificatory rite for all kinds of sacred performances), sacrifice, pinda-dan (offering of pindas,
propitiatory rites to the manes at holy place as an obligatory ritual) and mahotsava (annual
festivals and processions). Many scholars provide insightful accounts of such rituals that are
generally performed with the help of ritual specialists. However, these rituals are also subject
to changes along with changes in modern pilgrimage travel and its commodification and
commercialization. Contemporary Indian pilgrimages, however, seem to have evolved in a
form that is very distinct from the traditional one. Along with a substantial increase in the
volume of visitors to sacred sites, qualitative changes are visible in the very essence of
pilgrimage. The modern version displays more ‘tourism like’ characteristics including
changing patterns of visits, limited engagement of visitors with rituals, commercial
organization typical to package tours, a particular way of marketing the destinations, and the
consumerist behavior of visitors. A large proportion of visitors to sacred sites have an
additional motive of getting away on holidays and now visit sacred sites on holidays
irrespective of the religious importance of time in performing pilgrimage (Shinde, 2003). This
contextualization helps in focusing on visitors as physical entities that have a great potential to
impact the physical environment of pilgrimage centres in ways different from the traditional
pilgrimages. It needs to be seen what happens to pilgrimage centers when they experience
regular convergence of large numbers of such visitors.
The environment in pilgrimage centers is influenced by the influx of visitors in many ways.
These impacts typically include short-term peak demands exerting stress on basic services,
accumulation of huge quantities of residuals (wastes), high levels of pollution and clearing of
land (and forests in many places) for creating temporary accommodation facilities and
amenities for pilgrims.Such environmental impacts are most likely to peak and then dissipate
over time in and around the pilgrimage centers. During this time, problems such as
accumulation of huge amount of non-biodegradable waste (plastic and glass cups, polythene
etc.), water pollution (due to inadequate sewerage facilities), deforestation due to harvesting of
firewood, and destruction of flora and fauna are reported. Another problem relates to
overcrowding, congestion and stampedes which usually get a lot of media attention. In the
contemporary context, however, many of the short term problems accumulate and intensify
with a constant influx of visitors. The complex repercussions that this has on the environment
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are determined by two factors. First, the magnitude and pattern of visitation and the nature of
activities undertaken by the visitors (which may include both the religious and touristic
aspects) are bound to have certain direct impacts. Many such environmental impacts are
similar to those experienced by mass tourism destinations (Singh, 2002). Second, frequent
visitation generates a lot of economic opportunities in establishment of services such as hotels,
restaurants, religious paraphernalia and souvenir shops, travel agencies and other businesses
that cater primarily to visitors. Such demand for services leads to rapid urbanization of the
place. Since many pilgrimage centres have traditionally been small towns, rapid urbanization
brings in its own environmental pressures such as high stress on infrastructure by burgeoning
population, loss of forests to real estate development, depletion of water supply, increasing
traffic congestion and so on. This complex interaction is pursued in this paper through the case
study of Alandi and Pandharpur sacred complex, a popular pilgrimage centre in Maharashtra,
India.
1.2 Environmental issues in religious towns
Pilgrim towns are places developed around holy sites, usually associated with the exploits of
the gods, the waters of sacred rivers or the presence of holy men, which attract people for
pilgrimage and related religious activities. People travelling to these places (pilgrims) usually
visit temples to experience the sacred (deity) through prescribed rituals in the religion that is
supposed to be more satisfying on auspicious occasions.
Religious places in India are the most favored destinations for domestic and international
tourists and are the most important assets to be preserved by the country. Typically, pilgrim
towns in India had been small towns situated in pristine environments to provide solace to the
pilgrims seeking spiritual help away from worldly matters. Revered by pilgrims as sacred
places, these places generally attract large number of pilgrims and tourists during the specific
days / months of importance related to particular religious place. Congregation of such large
number of people in a very short span of time leads to the collapse of basic infrastructure and
associated health and environmental problems.
Today, many pilgrim towns have shown signs of rapid urbanization, for example in Shirdi ‘the
process of modernization, improvement in transport infrastructure and communication has
turned the city of pilgrimage to a place of modern tourism’. Problems in the pilgrim towns
have become mass that turned the city of pilgrimage to a place of modern tourism’. Problems
in the pilgrim towns have become more complex that have changed from issues purely related
to pilgrimage (with religious motivation) as ‘occasional events’ to problems of regular visits of
floating population and urban expansion driven by such activity i.e. as a part of religious travel
and tourism activities. The carrying capacities of such towns have been stressed by influx of
visitors over a longer duration, leading to degradation of the very source of natural and
religious environment that generated the activity of pilgrimage. It is also high time for
considering the typical religious culture of these towns & avoiding the westernized approach
towards modernization of these places. The sheer volume of visitors makes such places
vulnerable to severe environmental impacts seen in increased problems of disposal of solid
waste and surface water, high levels of pollution (air, water and noise), constrained water
supply, overcrowding, etc with rampant deforestation for provision of more amenities and
facilities.
Generally these places are small towns with population barely about a lakh or so and the local
authorities with inadequate funds and infrastructure cannot manage such a sudden spurt of
demand for basic infrastructure and amenities. In addition to inadequate infrastructure, these
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religious places also face the following environmental problems / issues due to the afflux of
pilgrims and tourists.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Pollution of rivers / lakes or other water bodies
Disposal of untreated sewage and absence of sanitation facilities
Indiscriminate disposal of solid waste
Contamination of drinking water systems
Risk of spreading water borne diseases due to the absence of health and sanitation
facilities and
6. Other problems such as noise pollution, dust pollution, etc.
2. Study area: Alandi and Pandharpur
The sacred complex of Alandi & Pandharpur comprises of the two towns (Figure 1). Alandi
town is situated on the banks of the River Indrayani in Khed taluka in Pune District of
Maharashtra State. It is located at 18.67° N Latitude and 73.90° E Longitude. It is
approximately 25 km from Pune and situated about 2 to 3 km off the Pune-Nashik National
Highway No. 50 (NH-50). It is about 10 km from the Pimpri Chinchwad Industrial Complex.
Apart from its mythological and religious importance for Hindus, the deity is popular for its
‘wish fulfilling power’ and therefore attracts millions of visitors every year.
Figure 1: Location of study area: Alandi and Pandharpur
3. Methodology
This research uses an exploratory case study approach. Field visits were conducted in May
2012 and involved face-to-face interviews with local community and agencies that in some
way engage with management of pilgrimage and included government officials; religious
leaders; representatives from NGOs; experts on environment in the study area and local
community leaders. The environmental issues were discussed with the help of structured
questionnaires and informal meetings. Observations were also made by participating in
pilgrimage and its rituals and looking at towns’ infrastructure, temples, facilities and
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Pilgrimage and the environment: Challenges in a pilgrimage centre in Maharashtra, India
surroundings. (1) What kinds of factors shape the environment in a pilgrimage centre; (2)
What is the effect of interaction between these factors on the environment and (3) What is
being done to address the environmental outcomes.
3.1 Observations
3.1.1 Factors affecting the environment
Two kinds of factors that are most likely to affect the environment in a pilgrimage centre
include visitor flows and the urban growth of the place.
3.1.2 Visitors flows
3.1.2.1 Pandharpur
Magnitude: The total population of Pandharpur town was 91,379 for the year 2001 (Figure 2).
The decadal growth rate in population of the town shows a variation of minimum for the year
1911 to a maximum of 24.03 for the year 1981.
Figure 2: Decadal growth Rate of Pandharpur Town.
Figure 3: Floating population of pilgrims in Pandharpur
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3.1.3 Floating population in Pandharpur
Besides the residential population of the town, a large number of pilgrims visit the temple of
lord Vitthal located here. The devotees visit all round the year, but it is during the special
occasions of fortnightly full moon days (Ekadashi), that their numbers are high (Figure 3).
The pilgrims (warkaris) come in large numbers on occasions of the Ekadashis during the 4
months of the Marathi calendar; Chaitra, Ashadhi, Kartik and Magh.
3.2 Alandi
Alandi town has a population of 17,565 which increased from 10,249 in 1991 (Figure 4). The
last decade has shown substantial growth rate (71.34 %) which is much higher than the growth
rate between 1981 & 1991 which was only 36.24 %.
Figure 4: Population growth in Alandi.
3.2.1 Floating population in Alandi
Alandi is an important pilgrim centre in Maharashtra. The floating population in the town is
attributable mainly to the large number of pilgrims visiting the town. On an average, 12-15
lakh pilgrims visit Alandi annually (Figure 5).
Figure 5: Floating population of Pilgrims in Alandi
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3.3 Duration of stay
Average stay of pilgrims in Alandi is 2-3 days while in Panadharpur it depends on their
darshan. In the free time, visitors go for site-seeing and therefore implicit is the potential for
an increase in consumption of resources and an extra demand for services.
3.3.1 Effects on the environment
The complex interactions between the above-mentioned factors seem to effect the
environment through three interrelated processes: (1) stress on basic services, (2) increase in
pollution and (3) degradation of natural resources. Stress on basic services Water supply
though water supply seems to be generally adequate in Pandharpur, a severe water crisis is
often reported in summer months and on peak occasions. In Alandi, scarcity of drinking water
is more acutely felt; water supply is grossly inadequate and is less than half of the suggested
national standard (140 L per capita per day).
3.3.2 Sewerage
Disposal of wastewater is an issue because it finds its way into the natural ecosystem of the
hills, especially during peak visitation due to malfunctioning of the sewage treatment plants. In
Pandharpur, owing to the inadequacy of the sewerage system in many area, open drains and
soak pits are heavily used. This causes severe contamination of ground water; more than 60–
80% of the ground water is subjected to such contamination. The infrastructure of public
toilets and public conveniences is grossly insufficient in Pandharpur and poses a major threat
for public health. Foul smell and overflowing gutters around public conveniences are not
uncommon during peak visitation. As such, in order to avert any epidemics of diseases, the
local municipality resorts to spraying of pesticides and insecticides.
3.3.3 Solid waste
It can be estimated from the available data that about 0.6 kg per capita waste is generated in
both the towns. This is much higher than the average daily waste generation of 0.36 kg per
capita.(Source, Pandharpur Municipal Council, 2012) Since Alandi is a major tourist center
the waste generated in the town would contain large quantities of organic waste. From the
field survey it was observed that the solid waste from the town largely contains organic waste
from religious offering and functions, flowers, food items, households and markets,
commercial waste like paper, plastic, bags, etc. and inert material like sand, stones and silt
from street sweeping and drain cleaning activities In Padharpur waste disposal is a challenge
and major portion of the wastes are (about 35 tons per day) collected by Pandharpur Municipal
Council, and are being dumped openly at a nearby landfill site which poses a high risk of
contamination of the surface and underground in the fragile ecosystem of the hills. Usually the
items required in worship of the deity are organic (and biodegradable) in nature and are able to
decompose when dumped. However, with recent introduction of polythene bags in packaging
many of these items and its ready acceptance by pilgrims (for the convenience), a large
quantity of plastic waste is now going into landfill sites and this has serious environmental
concerns for the hill ecosystem. Solid waste is a serious issue for Alandi due to the local
authority’s lack of resources for managing such waste. But more importantly, it is also because
of the difficulty in distinguishing between the waste generated by visitors and the resident
population. A large number of visitors stay in the town which adds waste that is only
periodically collected. The magnitudes of the problem are seen in public places, bus stations
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and in the vicinity of temples in the form of heaps of uncollected wastes. However, these
heaps are cleared just before the occasions of peak visitation. The fringe areas have the
problem of waste being collected only sporadically; this indicates that the typical problems
faced by any urban centre are evident in Pandharpur too.
3.3.4 Exploitation of natural resources
Provision of facilities and amenities for pilgrims in Pandharpur has come at the cost of
exploitation of natural resources. Deforestation has been blatant in the past and building of
dams in the hills for water supply has led to drying of water springs, canals and streams and
also to a substantial loss of irrigation water for the rural areas in the downstream. Apart from
these indirect effects, increased visitation is also directly responsible for wildlife extinction in
two main ways. First, provision of extensive lighting in the hills to improve visibility of access
to the shrine has taken away the darkness that was otherwise critical for many animals for
finding food. Second, the noise that is associated with periodic movement of pilgrims walking
up to the shrine and frequent movement of vehicles drives away wildlife.
4. Conclusions
Travel to pilgrimage centers has become more frequent due to increased accessibility and
availability of transport. As a result, pilgrimage as an institution at the interface of religion,
travel and tourism has changed in its traditional form in India. Such movement in pilgrimage
centres seems to be evenly distributed over time rather than the peaks that were observed
during annual religious events in traditional pilgrimages. The heightened visitation and the
resulting economic opportunities seem to drive the inevitable rapid urbanization of pilgrimage
centers. These two interlinked factors related to pilgrimage activity shape the
socio,economical and cultural environment through direct impacts of the magnitude of visitors,
and indirect pressures of pilgrimage induced urbanization. Environmental impacts in
traditional pilgrimages are more likely to dissipate over time and space, but tend to recur,
intensify and accumulate from frequent visitation.
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