Monday, 30 May 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
Expressing concern at the litter along the Char Dham Yatra routes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to the garbage heaps in the Kedarnath area and urged the people to ensure that the environs are kept clean. The PM said this and also mentioned some persons voluntarily doing sanitation work in their respective areas in different parts of Uttarakhand during his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ address on Sunday.
“The holy pilgrimage of Char Dham in Uttarakhand is currently underway. Thousands of devotees are taking part in the Char Dham Yatra and especially going to the Kedarnath temple. But, I have also seen that some devotees were disappointed after they came across filth on route to Kedarnath. Going on a holy pilgrimage and coming across a heap of filth is not right,” said the PM. He also spoke of some pilgrims cleaning the nearby areas where they have been staying during the pilgrimage.
“Just as pilgrimage is important, ‘teerth sewa’ is also crucial. I would also say that without ‘teerth sewa’, a pilgrimage is also incomplete. There are many people in Devbhoomi Uttarakhand who are engaged in the ‘sadhana’ of cleanliness and service,” he said.
Modi also appreciated Rudraprayag resident Manoj Benjwal for undertaking efforts to clean the environment for the past 25 years. “Apart from running the campaign for cleanliness, he is also engaged in making holy places plastic-free. Surendra Bagwadi from Guptkashi has also made cleanliness his life mantra. In Guptkashi, he regularly runs cleanliness programmes, and, I have learned that he has also named this campaign as ‘Mann Ki Baat’,” said the PM.
PM Modi also mentioned Champa Devi from village Devar, who has been teaching waste management to women of the village. He also appreciated Champa Devi of Dewar village for planting a large number of trees and working on waste management in her village.
“Wherever we go, let us maintain the dignity of these pilgrimage sites. Purity, cleanliness and a pious environment- we should never forget these and for that, it is imperative that we abide by the resolution of cleanliness.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Char Dham Yatra began on May 3 with the reopening of Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines while Kedarnath and Badrinath were reopened on May 6 and May 8 respectively. A record number of pilgrims have already visited the Char Dham shrines since the pilgrimage is being held properly after a gap of two years when it was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. More than 11.45 lakh people have visited these shrines so far this month while more than 22 lakh have registered for the Yatra so far. Media reports and pictures of heaps of garbage near Kedarnath elicited considerable concern among devotees and politicians also. The government has taken some steps to address the situation but critics opine that much more needs to be done.
