10 tonnes of plastic removed from Girnar

AHMEDABAD: The drive to clear plastic litter left behind by pilgrims and visitors to the Girnar Parikrama is going on, and so far the forest department and NGOs have removed over 10 tonnes of plastic waste. R Senthil Kumaran, deputy conservator of forest, said they were expecting 13 tonnes of plastic waste this year, after the parikrama, which is two tonnes less than the plastic waste cleared last year.
Forest department officials said this year’s drop in footfalls at the parikrama, coupled with increase in awareness about littering can be credited for the reduction in plastic waste.
The parikrama, which passes through the Girnar Sanctuary was held between November 11 and 14.
Forest officials said that every year, wildlife lovers and voluntary organizations clear tonnes of plastic littering the 36-km long Girnar Parikrama route. However, after the Girnar Parikrama, plastic has now invaded the entire sanctuary, the last abode of Asiatic lions.
Officials said that this year only six lakh pilgrims and visitors came to the Girnar Parikrama, while the number was nine lakh last year. There were two main reasons behind the drop in footfalls said officers – one was that the sowing was going on, and the second, probably, was the effects of demonetisation.
The non-availability of the notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 kept away tourists from other parts of the state though the parikrama is one of the most sought after annual affairs in the region. Officials said that the number of tourists fell by around 33% this year.
Kishore Kotecha, a member of an NGO involved in the project said, “In our efforts for the Swach Girnar Abhiyan, we had put up three stalls for four days during the parikrama with 18 workers at the stalls.”
“We replaced about one tonne of plastic bags from pilgrims,” said Kotecha, adding, “We distributed 240 kg of paper bags, 100 kg of newspaper and 8 reels of thread.”
“Collected waste was removed with the help of Junagadh Municipal Corporation. We are also involved in removing the plastic by joining hands with the forest department,” Kotecha said, adding that he too expected the plastic litter to be less than that of the previous year.