Plastic waste piles up as devotees throng Kedarnath for Char Dham Yatra | Pics

In Uttarakhand's Kedarnath, heaps of garbage and plastic waste can be seen littered as devotees throng to the region for the Char Dham Yatra which began earlier this month.

With pilgrims thronging to Kedarnath in Uttarakhand for the Char Dham Yatra, heaps of plastic waste and garbage have piled up in the region.

Uttarakhand | Heaps of plastic waste & garbage pile up on the stretch leading to Kedarnath as devotees throng for Char Dham Yatra pic.twitter.com/l6th87mxD9

"The way plastic garbage has piled up in a sensitive place like Kedarnath is hazardous for our ecology. It'll lead to erosion which can cause landslides. We must keep in mind the tragedy of 2013 and remain careful," Prof MS Negi, head of geography department at Garhwal Central University was quoted as saying by ANI news agency.

Prof MC Nautiyal, director at High Altitude Plant Physiology Research Centre, said, "The tourist inflow has risen manifold due to which plastic garbage has increased as we don't have proper sanitation facilities. This has affected the natural vegetation. Medicinal plants are getting extinct as well."

The Char Dham Yatra, a Hindu pilgrimage, began on May 3 this year. While it was a low-key affair for the last two years due to Covid-19, the yatra began at full scale this year. The number of pilgrims visiting the temples has increased manifold.

The yatra began with the opening of Gangotri and Yamunotri portals for devotees on May 3, on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya. The Kedarnath door re-opened on May 6 and the doors of Badrinath opened on May 8.