29th March 2019 17:12:56 Hours
The 'Sri Pada' (Adam's Peak) is a historically important place of pilgrimage in Sri Lanka. Thousands of devotees make the arduous trek to the mountain each year during the pilgrimage season to reach the summit before sunrise. In order to reach the top, devotees have to climb thousands of steps over several hours braving tough weather conditions. The 'Sri Pada' is located in the central highlands of the island and reaches a height of more than 2,240m.”The mountain is surrounded by protected forest reserves which are home to a wide range of fauna and flora, many endemic to the country.
Sri Pada is also the catchment area for a number of major rivers in the country as well. Because of this the region is a very important place in both religio-cultural and environmental perspectives. Further, the annual pilgrimage season (December to May) attracts thousands of local and foreign visitors to Sri Pada. This also gives rise to the biggest cause of pollution at Sri Pada; garbage, especially plastic bottles and polythene material.
The Sri Lankan Army, joining in the cause to maintain a clean environment deploys its troops to cleanup programme to rid the site of garbage and litter. With the guidance of the Commander Security Force Headquarters - Central (SFHQ-Cen) troops launched a cleanup programme on 29 March 2019. Several civil authorities have given their support for the programme. During the programme, large amount of plastic waste and garbage were collected.
Collected waste and garbage were handed over for safe disposal to Maskeliya Pradeshiya Sabha. Few devotees who were on pilgrimage also provided their voluntary assistance to this worthy cause.
