Clean-up drive in Buxa core after Shivratri litter surge
Alipurduar: Even a week after Shivratri, the Forest Department continues phased special clean-up operations deep inside the core area of the Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR), following unprecedented littering during the annual pilgrimage.
The drive, underway since Thursday, is being carried out with the support of local residents, voluntary organisations and the Alipurduar Municipality. Forest officials described the situation as alarming, stating that within just four days—from February 13 to 16—nearly 1.5 lakh devotees visited the sensitive stretch from the Jayanti riverbed to Jorapahar near the Bhutan border to offer prayers at Mahakal Cave.
The routes from Jayanti to Jorapahar and from Jayanti to Chunia Watch Tower were the worst affected, with plastic waste, bottles, and food wrappers scattered across the forest floor. Shocked by the scale of pollution, authorities suspended safari operations along the two routes for four days—Thursday to Sunday.
Debashish Sharma, Deputy Field Director (East), BTR, said: “Despite carrying out continuous clean-up drives for several days with the help of voluntary organisations and local residents, we have not yet been able to restore the situation to normal. Most of the garbage has now been cleared, and the Chunia route is expected to normalise within a few days. Restoration of the Jayanti–Mahakal stretch may take longer.” He urged visitors to remain environmentally conscious and refrain from littering. The department has also requested Bhutanese authorities to undertake cleanliness measures upstream.
On Friday alone, 400 bags of plastic waste were handed over to the municipal solid waste management unit.
Forest personnel from the Hatipota Range and members of the Chuniajhora Beat Joint Forest Management Committee collected 40 additional bags from a few kilometres of road on Saturday. By Sunday, over 150 more bags of plastic and other waste had been removed by local volunteers and forest staff.
On Monday, under the leadership of the Chairman of ALipurduar Municipality, Prasenjit Kar, municipal workers and councillors removed ten truckloads of waste for processing. Municipality Chairman Prasenjit Kar said ten truckloads of waste have already been transported for processing and assured continued support if required.
