Rajkot: Close to seven lakh people who undertook the fiveday annual Parikrama around Mount Girnar in November left the Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary littered with nearly 23,000 kg of plastic waste.

This is an alarming fourfold increase in the quantity of plastic waste strewn in the sanctuary compared to 2011. The clean-up drive ‘Girnar Safai Abhiyan’ to clear the lions’ abode was taken up immediately after the parikrama ended on November 29 last year. In the last 50 days or so, volunteers have gathered nearly 23 tonnes of plastic, mostly water pouches, from the sanctuary. The drive is still on and it is likely the quantity will go up to 25 tonnes.