By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
Taking cue from cleanup campaigns at Meenakshi Amman and other top Hindu temples, the Kedarnath municipal panchayat has achieved a significant milestone collecting 1000 kgs of plastic waste within the first week of the pilgrimage season which began on April 22.
Over 2.26 lakh pilgrims have already visited Kedarnath shrine till the evening of April 29.
“Within just the first week of the pilgrimage season, the Kedarnath civic body has collected approximately 1000 kgs of plastic waste. The Municipal Panchayat is also in the process of constructing permanent pits for the proper disposal of wet waste,” an official statement said on Thursday as thousands of pilgrims continue to throng Kedarnath temple, nestling in the Garhwal Himalayas in Uttarakhand. A massive volume of plastic waste, primarily consisting of water bottles, is accumulating within the shrine premises.
However, the Kedarnath municipal panchayat was well-prepared to tackle this situation in advance this time as it had already set up a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) spanning 3,000 sq ft within the shrine area. The plastic waste and other solid waste collected from the shrine area are deposited and sorted into 15 distinct categories. These categories primarily include plastic waste, glass, tin, and textile waste.
A compactor machine has also been installed at this facility which crushes plastic waste such as bottles into compact bales weighing between 30 and 40 kgs.
Neeraj Kukreti, the Executive Officer of the Kedarnath municipal panchayat, said the plastic waste which has been collected will now be sold, thereby generating revenue for the local development. He further noted that other waste materials—including glass and tin—are also being collected and will subsequently be sold as scrap.
The Municipal Panchayat has deployed volunteers to work in two shifts morning and evening to ensure the cleanliness of the shrine premises.
The move came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Dehradun, appealed to pilgrims visiting Uttarakhand not to litter with single-use plastic waste.
“The Government of Uttarakhand is making every possible effort to conserve the environment of the pilgrimage sites, as well as that of the sacred rivers and the majestic Himalayas,” said Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
