New Delhi: Eighty Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, including 50 men and 30 women, went on a cleaning drive in Uttarakhand on Thursday to mitigate the damage to the Himalayan ecosystem due to littering by tourists. 

According to the CISF, the Himalayan expedition team collected four tonnes of inorganic waste from Rudraprayag. The team was headed by Uttar Pradesh cadre IPS officer, Raghubir Lal, who is also in charge of security of the Delhi Metro.

"This solid waste was left over by the tourists in the area during the past several years and was affecting its highly sensitive ecosystem. Even though many efforts were made by the district administration and other institutions to collect the solid waste left over by the tourists, the solid waste/garbage could not be properly disposed of. The CISF managed to collect the waste, and handed it to the Rudraprayag Municipal Corporation for proper disposal," CISF said.

The team, during nine days, covered a large area in Uttarakhand through cycling), trekking, kayaking, rafting and so on.

"A team of CISF trekked to Chandrahila Shikhar in Rudrapryag district located 14,000 feet above the sea level; Tritya Kedar-Tunganath in Rudrapryag where the Hindu temple, which is the highest temple anywhere in the world, is located; Chopta which is known as ‘Switzerland of India’ and nearby places such as Sarri village, Deoriatal and Kartik Swami where it collected more than four tonnes of solid inorganic waste mainly consisting of non-degradable plastic," CISF spokesperson Hemendra Singh said.

During the expedition, CISF's women team demonstrated martial art, weapon handling etc to the students of schools, colleges and universities and educated the girl students regarding the role of the CISF in women empowerment. The officers and personnel of the expedition team also interacted with students and local residents and motivated them to join the Central Armed Police Forces, other police forces, Indian Police Service and State Police Service.