Daijiworld Media Network - Bantwal (SP)

Bantwal, Nov 10: The festival of lights is fast approaching. In spite of challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, preparations are underway to celebrate this festival.

In tune with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of achieving self-reliant India, students of Kalladka Sri Rama Group of Educational Institutions at Kalladka have been preparing diyas for Deepavali by using cow dung as raw material.

For becoming self-reliant, staying away from foreign goods is an important step. With this in mind, the dung and cow urine of Vasudhara cow shelter of the educational institution is being used for making these diyas.

The students are trained to make these diyas. A target of 10,000 diyas has been set, and over 2,500 diyas are ready as of now. Initially, the cow dung is readied, pressed through the moulds and dried under the sun. The principal of Sri Rama PU College, Krishnaprasad Kayarkatte, is the convener of this programme. He is drawing the support of the teachers and other staff of the institution. About 50 students and 10 interested parents along with eight staff engage in the talk. They have been divided into two groups.

Towards matching the expenses incurred for manufacturing the diyas, it is planned to sell the diyas at Rs 5 apiece. Arrangements for e-marketing of the diyas through the students of the commerce department of the college through an advanced booking system on Google has been made.

In addition to the diyas made with dung, about 500 clay diyas have also been made. For the dung diyas, oil or ghee have to be used. They burn for about 45 minutes. Later, even if the entire diya is burnt, no harm will come.