Jhala, a lesser known border hamlet situated near the banks of Bhagirathi river, few kilometers before disaster hit Dharali on the Gangotri road in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand state is doing the rounds these days with students taking active part in the cleanliness campaign “Dhanyawad Prakriti” or “Thank You Nature” and making the surroundings clean. The campaign was the brain child of the Youth Welfare Committee (Yuvak Mangal Dal) with a motive to thank Mother Nature by devoting two hours every day for cleanliness of the surroundings. This effort of youth was lauded by the honourable Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi through the 114th episode of his broadcast programme Mann Ki Baat on 29 September 2024. It’s an example that shows how encouragement can do wonders in terms of spreading awareness especially amongst the youngsters. I always advocate for involving school children in any campaign to transform it into a purposeful activity.
Quintessential Jhala village lies under the purview of Bhatwari Tehsil and Block headquarters and lies 40 km ahead of it. Incidentally Bhatwari is the place where I was born and brought up. The priest of Jhala village who was resident of Bhatwari once shared an anecdote that an outsider travelling to Gangotri stayed in Jhala and commented about untidy and unkempt appearance of villagers who used to abstain from bathing for days. The priest being a renowned and sensible personality of the locality replied that the extreme climatic conditions were responsible for their untidiness then, but with their big and clean hearts they welcomed guests enthusiastically and such was the trust on others that nobody locked doors in the village. These people with such clean hearts are not only doing yeoman’s service to the society by up keeping the vicinity and making surroundings clean, they have become the ambassador for the cause for others to follow suit also. With this beginning, the theme of Swachh Bharat Mission ‘Sanskar aur Swabhav’ (Value and Nature) will surely be inculcated amongst the masses to transform into habit of sanitation.
The cleanest village of India Mawlynnog that lies in Meghalaya is worth mentioning here that they have transformed it into a self-sustained village and hot tourist spot. An entry fee is levied for visiting the village and the fund thus generated is spent in uplifting the living condition of residents, bolstering the basic amenities in the village and for employment generation. The waste is collected in the dustbins made of bamboo, directed to a pit and then used as manure. It is mandatory for every villager to take part in cleanliness of the village as community service. Smoking and use of polythene is banned and rainwater harvesting is encouraged. With such measures and many more, Jhala has the potential to become self-sustained village of Uttarakhand in near future.
Another place needing special mention is Thalisain town that became seventh Nagar Panchayat of district Pauri. It is both a tehsil and a development block and is located on the right bank of Eastern Nayaar River. Veera Devi was elected as its first Chairperson and Deepak Pratap has been appointed as Executive Officer. On October 2, 2025 the proposed by-laws in respect of Solid Waste Management (SWM) were published in the newspaper inviting objections and suggestions within 30 days from the date of publication from the affected persons/shop owners / establishments/ offices. The plan is indeed in line with the Solid Waste Management Manual 2016 prepared by the Government of India. There are 10 chapters in the by-laws. Chapter one titled ‘General’ defines various terminologies related to SWM and chapter 2 titled ‘Segregation and Storage of Soild Waste at Source’ that lays emphasis of segregation and storage of nonbiodegrable, biodegradable and hazardous waste with respective colours of dustbins for collection of waste are blue, green and black at the source. Clear cut by-laws for their disposal have also been proposed. Chapter three titled ‘Soild Waste Collection’ proposes modalities of door to door collection of waste from different establishments. Chapter four titled ‘Secondary Storage of Solid Waste’ sets guideline for civic body to store the waste at the designated places. Ambassadors of Sanitation in Uttarakhand
