Pradeep says, while going up for a mountaineering expedition, we collect all the garbage. Mainly we get plastic bottles, multi-layer packaging plastic waste.
Image Credit source: PTI
Haryana’s Pradeep Sangwan is on a mission to clean up the garbage left behind by tourists on the Himalayas. Pradeep founded the Healing Himalaya Foundation six years ago. Pradeep’s Foundation for this mission Himachal Pradesh Five material recovery centers have been set up in the We collect around 1.5 tonnes of non-organic waste on a daily basis in all the five centers, which would have been burnt in landfills or open air, says Pradeep Sangwan, 37, a resident of Gurugram, Haryana. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had praised Pradeep in his monthly radio program Mann Ki Baat in December 2020.
Pradeep Sangwan says that his foundation’s projects are mainly focused on cleanliness drive, waste management and other activities in the rural Himalayan region. These projects are run with funds received from voluntary donations. Every year in December, Pradeep Sangwan prepares a calendar for the next year and the volunteers working in the foundation plan their trips accordingly.
go to the mountains and collect the garbage
Pradeep says, while going up for a mountaineering expedition, we collect all the garbage. Mainly we get plastic bottles, multi-layer packaging plastic waste, and then we store it at one place on the route. On our way back, we bring it back to the village, and drive it to the nearest facility.
Sangwan says that during his graduation from DAV College in Chandigarh, he came in contact with some students from Himachal Pradesh, with whom he started traveling around the state in 2007-08. After coming to the state in 2009, he traveled extensively and met a group of people from the Gaddi (shepherd) community in Lahaul. He was impressed by how, even in the most remote areas, they were protecting their environment.
Cattle get injured by glass bottles
His foundation set up its first garbage collection and littering center two years ago at Rakcham near Chitkul in Kullu district. After this four other centers were established at Mansari (Kullu), Pooh (Kinnaur), Tabo (Spiti) and Narkanda (Shimla). The Rakham center is close to Chitkul, which is known as India’s last village on the International Border.
Sangwan says he often comes across people who casually throw away beer and other glass bottles. Sometimes this type of garbage gets stuck in the hooves of cattle and they get injured. Sangwan says that this year volunteers of Healing Himalaya Foundation took a small step towards the growing problem of solid waste management during Manimahesh Yatra and brought back 3.5 tonnes of waste material and handed over to Chamba Municipal Corporation. With this, we aim to sensitize tourists to travel with a purpose and make them more aware of the impact of their actions on the natural environment, says Sangwan.
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