Swachhata Hi Seva: 1,000 kg plastic waste collected in Kedarnath in one week

Amid the huge influx of pilgrims at Kedarnath Dham, the Nagar Panchayat Kedarnath has achieved significant success in keeping the Dham free from plastic waste. In just the first week of the Yatra, the civic body has collected and compacted nearly 1,000 kg of plastic waste. The Panchayat is also constructing permanent pits for disposal of wet waste.

The doors of the 11th Jyotirlinga, Shri Kedarnath Dham, were opened on Wednesday, April 22. Record crowds of pilgrims have been visiting the Dham since day one, leading to large volumes of plastic waste, mainly water bottles. However, the Nagar Panchayat Kedarnath was prepared in advance to handle this. The Nagar Panchayat has set up a 3,000 sq ft Material Recovery Facility in the Dham. Here, plastic waste and other solid waste collected from the Dham are being segregated into 15 different categories. This mainly includes plastic waste, glass and tin, and cloth waste. A compactor machine has also been installed by the Nagar Panchayat at the site, which crushes plastic waste like bottles into bales of 30–40 kg each.

Nagar Panchayat Executive Officer Neeraj Kukreti said that nearly 1,000 kg of plastic waste has already been collected in the first week itself. It will now be sold, which will also generate revenue for the Nagar Panchayat. He added that glass, tin, and other waste are also being collected on-site and will later be brought to Sonprayag and sold as scrap. The Nagar Panchayat is conducting cleanliness drives in two shifts, morning and evening, in the Dham. For this, 55 sanitation workers have been deployed, while another agency is handling cleaning along the Yatra route. As a result, cleanliness is being maintained in the Dham.

*PM has already made an appeal*

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also appealed to pilgrims visiting Uttarakhand not to litter single-use plastic waste. During his visit to Dehradun earlier this month for the inauguration of the Delhi–Dehradun Expressway, PM Modi made five appeals to pilgrims and tourists coming to Uttarakhand, which included environmental protection and avoiding single-use plastic.

_“Uttarakhand is known as Devbhoomi and for its fragile ecosystem. Therefore, our humble appeal to every pilgrim coming here is not to throw plastic waste or any other kind of garbage around. The Uttarakhand government is making every possible effort for environmental conservation of pilgrimage sites, the sacred rivers, and the Himalayas. Continuous cleanliness drives are being conducted at the Dhams and along the Yatra routes through Nagar Palikas and Gram Panchayats.”