SRINAGAR: Around 70 volunteers on Sunday launched a major clean-up campaign across Kashmir’s meadows and high-altitude tourist destinations, aiming to remove nearly 100 sacks of plastic waste as concern grows over increasing litter in the Valley’s fragile alpine ecosystems.
The campaign, organised by the Green Caravan Foundation, covered several environmentally sensitive locations, including stretches along the Pir Panjal range, parts of Shopian, Pulwama, Charar-i-Sharief and the Mughal Road. Volunteers collected plastic bottles, food wrappers and other non-biodegradable waste left behind by tourists.
The volunteer-led organisation said the latest drive reflects the scale of the growing waste problem in Kashmir’s meadows, where fresh litter continues to accumulate despite repeated clean-up efforts.
“We cleaned several of these places only a few days ago, but when we returned there was hardly any visible difference because fresh plastic waste had already accumulated,” said the foundation’s founder, Rouf Ahmad Khanday.
He said the organisation expects to collect nearly 100 sacks of plastic waste during the ongoing campaign.
Founded as a registered non-profit organisation, the Green Caravan Foundation has been conducting environmental clean-up drives across Kashmir for the past four to five years, focusing on alpine lakes, meadows, mountain trails and other ecologically sensitive landscapes.
The organisation formally expanded its large-scale campaigns in 2023, beginning with the Mughal Road-Pir Ki Gali stretch before extending its activities to tourist hotspots such as Shukroo and Koolar, which witness heavy weekend footfall.
According to Khanday, the foundation currently has around 200 active volunteers who participate without remuneration. Basic operational expenses, including gloves and garbage bags, are met through voluntary contributions.
“Our volunteers include school students, retired teachers, former professionals and people from different walks of life. They are united by a commitment to protect Kashmir’s natural heritage,” he said.
Khanday said the initiative was inspired by his travels through Kashmir’s remote landscapes, where he observed increasing levels of plastic pollution even in relatively untouched areas.
“I visited many unexplored places and found them littered with plastic waste. That convinced me we had a responsibility to protect these landscapes,” he said.
Environmentalists have consistently warned that plastic waste left in Kashmir’s meadows, alpine lakes and mountain ecosystems threatens wildlife habitats, contaminates water sources and undermines the ecological health of the region. Volunteer-led initiatives, they say, are helping bridge gaps in waste management while highlighting the need for greater public awareness and responsible tourism.
