With hundreds of pilgrims visiting the various temples and sacred sites at the Tharpaling monastery of Chhumig Gewog in Bumthang, waste management is becoming an issue. With the district’s landfill located over 25 kilometres away from the monastery, disposing of the waste is a challenge. A group of volunteers recently cleaned the entire campus and dumped the waste but the monastery is seeking more support.
Most structures at the waste collection points are filled with wastes. Some of it, not emptied for over a year. Community-Based Scouts and trainees of the Build Bhutan Project at the Technical Training Institute in Chhumig took part in the cleanup. Green Bhutan Waste Management, a private waste management firm in Bumthang initiated the campaign. The firm has been providing free cleanup and disposal services for the last four years.
“I thought the quantity of waste would reduce after three years of cleaning campaigns but we had to do it this year as well for the fourth year running and waste is still a growing concern at Tharpaling. We used to usually dump about four truckloads of waste each year but this year, there were about six truckloads. What we are doing is more like a Corporate Social Responsibility. We are not just focusing on the business side of waste management but we are also doing it for the community and the environment. The waste issue would be mitigated if a dump truck is sent here for waste collection every month,” said Chogyal Lham, the Proprietor of Green Bhutan Waste Management in Bumthang.
“Most of us are laid off due to the pandemic and we are trainees of the Build Bhutan Project at the TTI Chhumig. Tharpaling is a sacred place but there are not many cleaning the place, so we volunteered to take part in the cleanup today. I don’t know if it’s the ignorance of the pilgrims or the municipality’s lack of waste collection system, I find waste in every nook and corner,” said Dawa, a volunteer.
Tharpaling monastery is a cluster of five temples and several meditation huts. In addition to the littering caused by the pilgrims, there are over 150 monks, hermits and meditators at the monastery generating a large quantity of waste. From plastic wrappers to bottles, waste of all sorts is dumped in the collection shelters. According to the Secretary of the monastery, some people even dump sanitary pads and diapers in shelters.
“Volunteers are left surprised when they come across sanitary pads and diapers in the waste collection shelters which are very unlike waste from a monastery but these are all dumped by the pilgrims wrapped in plastics. We don’t have a separate waste management budget, so we want to request the Dzongkhag Administration to help us in dumping the waste on a regular basis,” said Karma Leki, the Secretary for Tharpaling Monastery.
“We feel hesitant burning the waste here thinking it might desecrate the holy sites but there is no other way to get rid of the waste. We want to request the volunteers and agencies concerned to keep supporting us” said Euden Tshomo, who is currently doing prayers at the Tharpaling Monastery.
“Some well-off devotees come here to conduct Tshokor regularly, the waste from such rituals are adding to the issue here,” added Thinley Norbu, the caretaker of Zambala monastery in Tharpaling.
According to the Dzongkhag Environment Officer, Nima Wangmo, waste collection in the gewogs is a challenge due to a limited number of garbage dump trucks. She also said communities and institutions seeking waste disposal services have to propose to the respective gewog administrations for support.
Meanwhile, the Bumthang municipality will have a new pickup truck procured through Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation (BTFEC) funding which will be solely deployed for waste collection in the gewogs. Procurement processes are underway.
Kipchu, Bumthang
