Cleanliness Campaign for Shri Manimahesh Yatra 2025

Shri Manimahesh Kailash is a sacred mountain in the Himalayan range, located in the Chamba district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Each year, a large number of pilgrims undertake the Shri Manimahesh Yatra, trekking to Manimahesh Lake, located at an elevation of 4,080 meters at the foothills of Manimahesh Kailash.

The Chamba route is the easiest and most popular route of the pilgrimage, yet it is full of challenges. Pilgrims traverse a steep and narrow path through meadows and experience a gradual decline in oxygen levels. The route passes Bharmour town, Hadsar village, Dhanchho campsite, and two sacred locations at Shiv Gharat and Gauri Kund before arriving at Manimahesh Lake. The trek from Hadsar to Manimahesh Lake spans 13 kilometers each way with overnight stays at Dhanchho and/or Gauri Kund.

Since 2023, Vishav Manav Ruhani Kendra (VMRK) has organized medical camps and offered ambulance services to pilgrims during the Shri Manimahesh Yatra. This year, the administration approached VMRK with three requests:

  • support the administration’s “Swachh Manimahesh Abhiyan” (Clean Manimahesh Campaign) to clean the pilgrimage route before the start of Shri Manimahesh Yatra 2025, scheduled from August 14 to 31;
  • donate medical equipment;
  • continue offering medical services to pilgrims during the Shri Manimahesh Yatra 2025, as done in previous years.

This blog post details VMRK’s participation in the cleanliness campaign.

Planning and preparation

The administration launched the campaign to restore the natural environment of the pilgrimage route by clearing the long standing waste along the route from Hadsar to Manimahesh Lake. The goal was to collect and sort the waste into different categories for effective disposal. The administration invited VMRK to offer shramdaan (volunteer service) to clean the route and donate materials needed for the drive.

Grateful for another opportunity, VMRK promptly began planning to participate in the campaign from July 15 – 25. This required coordination as this period coincided with the Kanwar Yatra 2025, during which VMRK planned to organize 61 kanwar camps. Knowing that a large number of volunteers from nearby states would be serving at these kanwar camps, VMRK called for volunteers from other states. In this way, VMRK found 41 volunteers from the far-off Indian states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh for this campaign.

To carry out the cleaning campaign, VMRK purchased 1,000 polypropylene bags measuring 2 feet by 3 feet, as per the requirements shared by the administration. In addition, 25 bag needles and 40 kilograms of jute twine were procured to sew the bags.

By July 13, the team of 41 volunteers arrived at the Nawan Nagar center, traveling from as far as around 1,427 kilometers away. In the early morning of July 14, the volunteers, carrying the cleaning materials, departed from the center in a hired bus.

Journey and arrival

Around 10 pm the same day, the team reached Chamba, after which the road narrowed significantly through hilly terrain. Around midnight, the team reached Bharmour. After staying overnight, they departed early in the morning on July 15 to arrive at Hadsar a few hours later.

At Hadsar, later that same day, the administration held an inauguration ceremony to flag off the event and give the go-ahead to the volunteers. The inauguration ceremony was reported by The Tribune in this article: Cleaning the sacred path: Swachh Manimahesh Abhiyan launched.

July 15–25

VMRK PARTICIPATED IN SWACHH MANIMAHESH ABHIYAN

TONNES OF WASTE COLLECTED BY VMRK

VMRK VOLUNTEERS SERVED IN THE CAMPAIGN

Cleanliness campaign

VMRK volunteers reached Dhanchho that evening and commenced the cleaning drive the following day. Over the next four days, from July 16 to 20, the volunteers organized themselves in two groups: one group went down the trail and the other went up, covering approximately 2.5 kilometers from Dhanchho in each direction.

Each day, they started the drive in the morning, took a one-hour lunch break, and continued working until it was dark around 8 pm. Along the path, wherever possible, the team climbed up the mountainside and down the ravine side. They first collected garbage in polypropylene bags, which were then carried to designated garbage collection points. There, the garbage was sorted into 13 categories, including PET bottles, multi-layered packaging (MLP), glass, and metal. The filled bags were then sealed and prepared to be transported later by mules.

The Indian Meteorological Department had issued a red alert for heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh from July 21 to 23. Undeterred, on July 21, the team trekked to Gauri Kund. They started cleaning there the following day. When it rained, our volunteers wore raincoats and continued the cleaning drive in the cold, wet conditions without interruption. Like Dhanchho, Gauri Kund, being a resting point for pilgrims, also had large amounts of garbage in and around the area. While collecting surface garbage, volunteers frequently came across non-biodegradable waste buried underground. These items were also dug up and collected. As before, the collected waste was sorted and brought to the nearby collection point.

After carrying out the drive around Gauri Kund for 2 days, on July 24, VMRK volunteers trekked to Manimahesh Lake. They circled the entire lake to collect garbage and then returned to Gauri Kund the same day. The next day, the team began their return journey. Along the way, they spent several hours cleaning at Shiv Gharat before finally reaching Hadsar in the evening.

Participating in the campaign was a humbling experience. Our hearts were very much in this special project. The entire campaign collected approximately 8.55 tonnes of waste, of which around 7.21 tonnes were gathered by VMRK volunteers. Acknowledging VMRK’s contribution, the local administration officials personally met our volunteers to extend appreciation before they departed for the Nawan Nagar center.