Sunday, 02 July 2023 | Purnima Bisht | DEHRADUN
Over 8,000 kilogrammes of single-use plastics have been sent for recycling by the sanitation team stationed at Kedarnath shrine in Rudraprayag district since April. The sanitation team has also collected and segregated about 30,000 kgs of multilayer plastics like wrappers of candies, biscuits and chips among others since the commencement of Char Dham Yatra, said Sanjay Kumar, the additional municipal commissioner of Roorkee who is presently monitoring the sanitation work at Kedarnath Dham. He told The Pioneer that the teams are working even in the extreme weather conditions to ensure proper disposal of all kinds of waste generated in Kedarnath.
The sanitation team is collecting about 30 quintals of garbage daily which slightly fluctuates with the number of pilgrims arriving in Kedarnath. This quantity of garbage is being generated daily from the Kedarpuri Temple area to Ghoda Padav which is the base camp where pilgrims install tents. He said that 50 sanitation workers work to manage sanitation facilities in the area. He said that over 8,000 kgs single-use plastics have been sent for recycling in Sonprayag so far and nearly 1,500 bags of single-use plastic waste each weighing about four kgs will be sent for recycling in the next few days. He said that the teams collect about 1,500 kgs of organic waste daily that mostly include leftover food from pilgrims.
The organic waste is disposed of via composting in the area. He said that since single-use plastic is banned, the local bodies have issued directions to local eateries and shops to comply with the law. The sanitation team with the help of local authorities have so far imposed a penalty on nearly 70 small shopkeepers and eateries operators for not maintaining sanitation around their respective establishments. He said that the authorities have provided all shopkeepers with dustbins in the area to ensure they collect garbage and dispose of it as per the rules. If sanitation teams find garbage lying around shops, they act against them as per the Solid Waste Management Rules Act 2016 and Uttarakhand Anti-Littering and Anti-Spitting Act. He said that the sanitation team also raises awareness among pilgrims about maintaining cleanliness as many do not comply with rules and throw garbage in open areas. “Due to the consistent efforts of the administration, most of the establishments are cooperating with the teams to maintain sanitation,” added Kumar.
