Keeping Dhasa Clean and Green

Clean and GreenLha’s monthly mass clean up for December was held on the 16th with about50 participants, as usual Lha students and volunteers came along to help. This month we picked up litter around the main temple, Kora pathway and below Potala road. Even though we clean the area every month, there is a truck full of garbage every time. The Clean Upper Dharamshala Program (CUDP) is trying their best to keep this town clean and a few Tibetan non-government organisations sometimes make an effort to clean their surroundings. However, the local population is apparently unmoved by all the litter around and they rarely participate in or initiate any cleanup operations.

India’s National Green Tribunal, the statutory environment agency, has this month announced a new “statutory obligation” for local authorities to remove garbage and a fine of Rs 10,000 [US$160 / £120] for “any person or agency, government or private,” found leaving garbage in a public place, or anywhere without consent.

The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, or Clean India Mission, was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 with the aim of cleaning India’s streets.

For further environmental information, please visit tibetnature.net/en/