Trekkers collect 2,300 kg waste from 11 forts in Maharashtra 

Ahead of the UNESCO committee’s visit to Maharashtra this week, the state archaeology department launched a clean-up campaign at 11 forts on September 21, 22 and 24. Nearly 25 hiking groups from ten districts took part in this mission, and within a week, they collected at least 2300 kg of waste from 11 forts across Maharashtra. According to the trekkers, the garbage is largely made up of plastic, including water bottles and bags, and food stalls on forts appear to be the primary source of this waste. 

Twelve forts are currently being evaluated for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage list as ‘Maratha Military Landscapes of India’. The forts include Salher, Shivneri, Lohagad, Khanderi, Raigad, Rajgad, Pratapgad, Suvarnadurg, Panhala, Vijaydurg and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra and Gingee Fort in Tamil Nadu. 

The committee is set to visit Maharashtra and Tamilnadu this week. Ahead of these committee visits the archaeology department initiated a cleaning and awareness drive on 11 forts.  

Nearly 25 trekking groups came together for the clean-up initiative under Akhil Maharashtra Giryarohan Mahasangh, an apex organisation for mountaineering in Maharashtra.  

Umesh Zirpe, president, Akhil Maharashtra Giryarohan Mahasangh said, “All the forts we have covered during the cleaning drive have the highest visitor footfall throughout the year, especially in monsoon season.  During the drive, we observed that plastic items were higher in amount and forts where food stalls are set up have more quantity of waste.”  

He also said that a fort like Shivaneri is very well maintained, and the team is not required to do much work on the fort. Similarly, other forts need more attention.  

Vilas Wahane, assistant director, State Archeology Department, Pune said, “We received tremendous response for the initiatives including the cleaning drive from people and many people participated in this drive enthusiastically. “