Uttarakhand prepares for 'Green Chardham Yatra' to prevent problem of single-use plastic

He said that the government's effort is not only to provide the pilgrims with pure food and a clean environment but also to prevent the problem of single-use plastic from arising at our holy pilgrimage sites due to the Yatra. We are working on the principle of reducing, reusing, and recycling single-use plastic, he said.

The Chief Minister said that everyone, from pilgrims to food traders to local people, needs to cooperate in this. In view of this resolution, this time, the pilgrims will not only get clean and pure food in the hotels and dhabas of the Chardham Yatra route, but the hoteliers will also try to reduce the use of oil, salt, and sugar in the food.

Pilgrims will also be encouraged to avoid single-use plastic. For this, the Food Safety Drug Administration Department has started a wide-scale dialogue and training program with the hotels and food traders of the Yatra route even before the start of the Yatra.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has instructed all the departments to conduct the Yatra on the theme of Green Chardham Yatra.

In this sequence, the Food Safety Drug Administration Department is organizing training workshops with hoteliers and food businessmen in major cities of the Yatra route. Commissioner Food Safety and Drug Administration Dr. R. Rajesh Kumar said that in these workshops, hoteliers are being appealed to reduce the use of oil, salt and sugar in their food.

This will be especially convenient for travelers suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure. Also, in the Eat Right Campaign's sequence, hotels are being asked to make edible oil available for biofuel instead of using it more than three times.

Dr. R. Rajesh Kumar said that hoteliers are also being encouraged to cooperate in environmental protection by discouraging the use of single-use plastics, such as water bottles and wrappers. Deputy Commissioner Headquarters Ganesh Kandwal said that, in line with the departmental instructions, training programs have been completed so far with hoteliers and concerned departmental officers in Rishikesh, Srinagar, and Rudraprayag.

Before the start of the Yatra, training programs will be completed in several more places, including Uttarkashi, Chamba, and Haridwar. Local food products are also being asked to be made available to promote millets.