Eco activists go plogging to save Aravallis

Bijendra Ahlawat

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, June 23

More than three dozen volunteers of the ‘Save Aravalli’ an NGO here, carried out a cleaning drive in the Aravalli hills this morning. They cleared over 600 kg of garbage in the special campaign called plogging.

A spokesperson for the NGO said though it was perhaps the first time plogging was carried out in the eco-sensitive Aravalli belt. The drive was carried out on one of the main roads connecting Pali village with Surajkund Chowk. The waste was found dumped on both sides of the road and it included plastic bags, empty containers, plastic bottles and waste papers.

Jitender Bhadana, convenor of the Save Aravalli, said such an activity would be carried out at regular intervals. Volunteers were able to clear hundreds of kilograms of solid waste in about two and a half hours. Beside Save Aravalli, volunteers from the Delhi Plogger Club, Delhi Cyclers and local unit of Lions Club took part in the drive that started around 5.30 am.

Claiming that the Aravalli belt in the district here had been facing danger of land mafia and pollution, Bhadana said a major campaign was required to clean up the hills with strict regulations to check the menace. He said, “If 600 kg of garbage could be found in a stretch of 300 to 400 metres, one could imagine how much litter would be present in the hills, which are spread over thousands of acres.” Ecogreen engaged in the disposal of waste, on the behalf of the Municipal Corporation Faridabad, also provided help in the drive today.

Jogging plus activism  

The term ‘plogging’ means a recreational activity that originated in Sweden. It combines jogging with picking up litter (in Swedish: plocka upp).

Novel initiative  

If 600 kg of garbage could be found in a stretch of 300 to 400 metres, one could imagine how much litter would be present in the hills, which are spread over thousands of acres — Jitender Bhadana, convener, Save Aravalli