Girnar’s ‘Lili’ Parikrama not green enough as tourists litter on route
Updated: Nov 26th, 2023
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| Image: ministry of tourism |
As the foothills of Girnar welcome pilgrims in the dense forest of the mountain range, Lili Parikrama (translated: green circumambulation), an annual tradition, witnesses pilgrims walking through the jungle.
Lili Parikrama, a 36-km-long journey that commenced on Nov 23 and will conclude on Nov 25. It holds spiritual significance for Mount Girnar, located in the Junagadh district of Gujarat. It is held from Kartik Sud Ekadashi to Purnima (November) as per the Hindu calendar and starts from the temple of Bhavnath.
The Parikrama, which hosts lakhs of visitors, bears the burden of littered plastic waste by the people.
A total of 11,45,000 visitors embarked on the journey on the first day of Parikrama, which may rise to 12 lakh, as per the authorities.
The trash of a three-day-long journey takes more than a month to get cleaned up.
Many organisations volunteer to clean the route used by the visitors for three days of Parikrama.
Pranav Vaghasiya, a volunteer at a nature club, said, “It would have been easy for us if the visitors maintained self-discipline. Last year, 88 volunteers from our organisation cleaned plastic trash weighing four tonnes. We have braced up for this year as well.”
Around 15 organisations volunteer to clean the littered path of Parikrama every year. Environment lovers from every field gather in Girnar to make it clean and green again.
Prabodh Bhatt said, mostly, people litter at the main spots of the journey, including Bordevi, Sarkhadiya Hanuman, and Malvela.
After the conclusion of Parikrama, people from Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and other cities reach Girnar to volunteer for the cleaning.
The spiritual journey comes as a curse for nature; every year, screaming for social awareness among the pilgrims.
