Plogging for the queen of Hills: Fitness meets cleanliness in Darjeeling

Darjeeling: It’s now going to be “Feet run, Hands clean and Hearts unite” in Darjeeling as a people-powered movement takes off on the occasion of International Youth Day to “restore the beauty of Darjeeling through cleanliness”.

Named the ‘Mero Darjeeling’ (My Darjeeling) programme, the initiative is spearheaded by the VikRun Foundation in collaboration with the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and Darjeeling Municipality. It is based on the eco-friendly fitness activity plogging—a concept that originated in Sweden combining jogging with picking up litter. The term blends “jogging” with the Swedish “plocka upp” (pick up).

The activity was flagged off on Tuesday from the Gorkha Ranga Mancha in Darjeeling. “Running is the fastest emerging sport in the Darjeeling Hills. Large numbers take part in this activity. If runners and health enthusiasts just invest two hours a week for Darjeeling, we can make the Queen of the Hills cleaner and greener,” said Vikram Rai of the VikRun Foundation. Plogging will be held weekly, with races judged not by speed but by the amount of litter collected.

The next plogging event will take place on August 15 at the Darjeeling Chowrasta (Mall), starting at 9:30 am, followed by a clean-up of Lebong Stadium on August 16 after Independence Day celebrations. Over time, the programme aims to cover all 32 municipal wards of Darjeeling. “It is a great concept. We have been working at our level but always felt we lacked in educating or creating awareness among the masses. This movement will focus on counselling as well,” said Dipen Thakuri, Chairman of Darjeeling Municipality. The town produces about 40 metric tonnes of waste daily, which can shoot up to 100 metric tonnes during peak tourist season.

“It is easy to engage in a blame game, complaining that Darjeeling is dirty while forgetting our own responsibilities. We must change our mindset. The youths connected to Mero Darjeeling have a Herculean task ahead. This programme will add more muscle to the civic body’s efforts. The GTA will award the cleanest ward,” said Anit Thapa, Chief Executive of the GTA.

Raj Basu, Convenor of the Association for Conservation of Tourism (ACT), emphasised: “The Observatory Hill, where the Mahakal temple is located, should be declared a Biodiversity Heritage site and later a National Heritage site. Keeping Darjeeling clean is a big challenge and tourist participation is vital. They should be responsible tourists, following the principle ‘My waste, my responsibility.’”