Chandigarh: In 2016, Pradeep Sangwan, resident of the Jhojhu Kalan village of Haryana’s Charkhi Dadri district, embarked on a noble mission — to clean up the Himalayas. Troubled by the sight of plastic bottles, polyethene bags, chip packets strewn in the hilly, touristy areas of the state, Sangwan launched the Healing Himalayas foundation.
However, over the next four years, Sangwan, struggled to garner local support and even contemplated quitting the project. But then one mention by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his Mann ki Baat radio address aired on 27 December, 2020, changed everything.
“There has been no looking back since,” the 38-year-old told ThePrint.
The Haryana resident was among the distinguished guests invited by Prasar Bharati who interacted with the Prime Minister during the 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat Sunday.
Sangwan was one of two people from Haryana — both mentioned in earlier episodes of Modi’s monthly address — to be part of the 100th episode celebration. The other was Sunil Jaglan, whose “Selfie with Daughter” campaign also caught Modi’s attention.
Speaking to Sangwan during the programme Sunday, Modi referred to the earlier episode of Mann Ki Baat where he had discussed the Healing Himalayas project and sought an update.
Sangwan informed Modi that from being able to carry out just six to seven cleaning drives a year, the foundation is “now receiving five tonnes of garbage daily from different locations in the Himalayas”.
Speaking to ThePrint Monday, Sangwan recalled his conversation with the PM and said: “I remember that during the Covid pandemic, we were still struggling to set up our first waste-collection centre and even contemplating quitting when the December 2020 episode aired.”
Many celebrities joined his campaign through social media after that. “(Actor) Randeep Hooda was the first to extend support and then Diya Mirza joined. We have set up material recovery facilities and waste-collection centres at four locations by now, and are about to set up a fifth one soon,” he said.
Sangwan’s first facility was set up at Rakchham in Sangla Valley. “Currently, we have facilities at Pooh in Kinnaur, Tabo in Lahaul and Spiti, and Mansari village in Naggar tehsil of Kullu district. The next facility will come up at Kasol soon,” he said.
Garbage from tourist locations is collected by the Healing Himalayas foundation and sent to recycling facilities, said Sangwab, adding that the venture is being able to provide livelihood to the volunteers associated with it.
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How it started
Born and raised in Jhojhu, Sangwan attended Military School in Ajmer (now called Rashtriya Military School, Ajmer).
A hodophile, Sangwan spent a significant amount of time travelling hill stations and mountain areas. During one of his excursions to Himachal Pradesh in 2009, he noticed plastic bottles and polythene bags littered around tourist spots. He continued to visit the area frequently, making five to six more trips over the next five years, but his desire to address the waste issue remained unfulfilled.
In 2016, Sangwan observed that tourists were venturing further into hilly areas beyond Shimla and Manali, which meant more waste generation. While this was good news for residents who benefited from tourism revenue, Sangwan knew that it also posed a significant challenge. Consequently, he began involving the locals in cleanup drives, and Healing Himalayas was founded.
At the time, the foundation was completely based on donations and support from the local people and the authorities. Now, though, it also receives donations from celebrities.
The challenges
A graduate of Panjab University, Chandigarh, Sangwan holds a degree in event management from NIEM – The Institute of Events Management, Mumbai, and has no prior experience in waste management.
Before he started his project, waste management was in complete shambles in Himachal Pradesh, Sangwan told ThePrint, adding that it was dependent on ragpickers. The only thing being done in the name of “waste management”, he said, was shifting waste from one place to another, without any permanent solution.
“When I started my mission, the idea was to set up material-recovery facilities and waste-collection centres in the vicinity of the tourist spots. We planned to collect and store solid waste at these centres till we had a truck-load of material to send to recycling units at Baddi or Chandigarh,” he explained.
The biggest challenge he said was to prepare youth volunteers at the local level.
“People considered working with an organisation dealing with solid waste below their dignity,” he said, adding, now, more people are volunteering.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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