The Nanda Devi Raj Jat Yatra which concluded recently is being touted by the State Government as a success when it comes to convincing tourists to visit the State post the June 2013 disaster. However, the thousands of people who participated in this event have left behind a trail of garbage and environmental damage especially in the ecologically sensitive high altitude areas falling on the Raj Jat Yatra route in Chamoli district.
The authorities have contracted two organisations to clean up the waste after which a team from the Ministry of Environment and Forests is slated to visit the area to review the situation. Thousands participated in the 280 kilometre long Nanda Devi Raj Jat Yatra which began on August 18 and concluded on September 7.
Thousands of people from across the State and beyond trekked through and even camped in the bugyals- high altitude alpine meadows on the uninhabited stretch of the yatra route.
While the people moved ahead, they left behind plastic waste, empty liquor bottles and other trash in such ecologically sensitive areas. According to experts, the footfall of such a large number of people at the same time in places not frequented by such large number of humans has also damaged the fragile environment here.
The people trampled the shoots of grasses and herbs sprouting in this season while many indiscriminately harvested rare medicinal herbs growing in these high altitude areas apart from leaving behind a trail of garbage.
Talking to The Pioneer, the Badrinath divisional forest officer NN Pandey said that the district administration had contracted Sulabh International for collecting the biodegradable waste and Uttarakhand livelihoods Improvement Project for the Himalayas (UlIPH) — Aajeevika for collecting non-biodegradable waste. “They have been given until the end of this month to clear the garbage after which a team from the MoEF will visit the areas to check the situation in the first week of October,” he said.