YATN (Youth Association for Transforming Nation), a Kullu based NGO has finally got recognition at state level as the Himachal Pradesh government will award the social organisation for best practices in environment conservation.

The award would be given away by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Friday on the occasion of World Environment Day.

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Gaurav Bhardwaj, the founder of NGO, said the organisation will get award under State Environment Leadership Award 2019 for best practices carried out for environment conservation and sustainable development.

“YATN members along with local youths has taken up the arduous task of cleanliness of Bijli Mahadev, a sacred temple which is located atop a hill at an altitude of 2438 metres and 10 kms away from Kullu town.

Around 10,000 tourists visit the sacred place during Monsoon season daily and the route to Bijli Mahadev literally becomes a pile of garbage as there are no dustbins and is not cleaned by authorities as it is outside the limits of Kullu Municipality area.

This results in poor basic amenities and lack of maintenance at the place as Bijli Mahadev is not connected by road and it is accessible by 3 km steep climb,” he told The Statesman.

After witnessing the deteriorating environment condition, Bhardwaj, a social worker and national level football player, took it upon himself to clean the place in 2011 and since then, he along with other members and local youth clean the surroundings.

The NGO collects around 100 kg of solid waste, mostly plastic daily during the peak season when devotees throng the sacred Bijli Mahadev to pay obeisance at the famous temple.

(It is worthwhile to mention here that Bijli Mahadev The Bijli-Mahadev is famous among devotees, and also got the name, as the ‘Shiva-Lingam’ is mysteriously struck by lightning every year which is customarily restored by priest using butter and pulse flour or sattoo.)

Bhardwaj said their main aim was not only to collect and transport waste but to make people aware of its management and disposal.

The NGO had carried various awareness drives to aware devotees and tourists about waste management and some them even had come forward to collect waste material along the trek every time they visit the place.

“Solid waste is not a problem if people know the solution,” Bhardwaj added.

The NGO had also placed eco-friendly dustbins which are made of bamboo and woods sticks along the trek and their efforts were now showing results as many other organizations were coming forward to free the place of plastic garbage.

Besides the cleanliness drive, the NGO had also carried out plantation drive in the area and so far, had planted around 50,000 trees in Bijli Mahadev area and another 50,000 in entire Kullu district.