Ambaji temple
Gandhinagar : Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) has set a target of collecting nearly two lakh used plastic bottles and distributing around 20,000 reusable steel bottles during this year’s Ambaji ‘padyatra’ as part of its ‘Swachh Paryavaran Yatra 2026’ initiative. Minister of state for forest and environment Pravin Mali said more than 70 tonnes of waste had been collected during last year’s ‘padyatra’. Around 300 camps along the routes have been proposed to distribute compostable bags this year. As part of the bottle exchange initiative, pilgrims depositing 10 used plastic bottles will receive a 750 ml reusable steel bottle. The GPCB has been involved in scientific waste management along the padyatra routes since 2011. The initiative was recast as a ‘Zero Waste Utsav’ in 2023 and expanded into the ‘Swachh Paryavaran Yatra’ in 2024, with greater emphasis on plastic reduction, resource recovery and behavioural change, an official statement said.
He said the larger objective should be behavioural change so that eventually there is no waste left to collect. The cleanliness and environmental awareness drive, being undertaken for the third consecutive year, aims to promote scientific waste management and reduce plastic use along the pilgrimage routes. Forest and environment minister Arjun Modhwadia , while addressing the gathering, urged pilgrims to treat cleanliness as a responsibility alongside their devotion to ‘Mataji’.
The campaign, organised under the ‘Seva Mera Yogdan’ initiative, was formally flagged off in Gandhinagar on Wednesday.