As many as 280 bags of plastic bottles and covers were collected from Shivagange Hill, also known as ‘Dakshina Kashi’ near Dobbspet in Nelamangala taluk of Bengaluru Rural district recently.
Members of 16 trekking organisations, including Bengaluru Trekking Club, India Hikes, Bengaluru Mountaineering Club, Adventure Adda, Green Leaf Adventures, Bangalore Hikers, Mad Adventures, and students of R.V. College of Engineering, took up a cleanliness drive atop the hill. As many as 258 members participated in the drive under the cleanmountains.org, an NGO.
Shivagange Betta is at a height of 2,640 feet, 54 km from Bengaluru. It is popular for rock climbing and youth often trek here in large numbers on weekends. Many pilgrims also visit the hill to offer prayers at Gangadhareshwara and Honnammadevi temples.
Shruthi Kalbargi, a former IT professional and one of the participants, said, “It is nice to contribute by keeping surrounding free of plastic waste.”
Amogh. R. who owns an even management company in Bengaluru, had come to climb the hill. “When I saw people collecting waste, I also wanted to do my bit,” he said. He collected and carried two bags of plastic waste from the hill.
Gangamma, who owns a petty shop on the hill, praised the youngsters and said that because of them, the hill was clean, and visitors would be discouraged from throwing plastic waste in the open.
After collecting the trash, the bags were handed over to Saahas, a waste management firm in Bengaluru. Plastic bottles are bought at ₹15 a kg. When they had sold the plastic bottles during their cleaning drive last year, they had got around ₹18,000, using which they had bought ten dustbins and placed them on either sides of the trekking path and on the premises of the temples, a spokesperson of Cleanmountains said.
