Aryan looks around with a hawk’s eye, his eyes gleam as he finds what he has been looking for. He lunges into the bushes, unmindful of prickly nettles, and comes up with a plastic bottle in hand. Aryan who studies in the 9th grade, along with his family is part of the Prekking programme in Hutridurga, organized under the aegis of India Tourism Bangalore, an arm of Incredible India under the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, and Dharthi  NGO. BMC Adventures, an adventure company which organizes treks, also partnered for the prekking programme in Hutridurga and organized the Hutridurga Trek.

The Prekking Programme was organized under the umbrella of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and Dekho Apna Desh.

Prekking Programme In Hutridurga – Trekking With A Difference

Trekking is something we all do for our own enjoyment. But prekking is all about taking trekking to another level. Prekking is trekking and also picking up plastic waste along the way and ensuring that they are then disposed off in an environmentally sustainable manner.

This was exactly what the group trekking its way to the top of the Hutridurga Hill did. Millenials thirsting for adventure, families spending quality time together in the midst of nature, small kids bubbling with energy, were all united in a common mission.

Prekking Programme in HuthriDurga – Swachh Bharat Mission

The mission to clean up the place of the garbage that other irresponsible visitors before them had callously littered. It was Republic Day, a public holiday, and when many others had left Bangalore to enjoy a long weekend, this group had chosen to spend the day, participating in the Prekking Programme and doing their mite for the environment. The enthusiastic group scouted the place for plastic waste and came back with sacks loaded with the trash. It was heartening to see Mr Mohamed Farouk, Director, India Tourism, Bangalore, leading from the front. A garbage bag in hand, he walked down rocky slopes picking up plastic bottles and wrappers with gloved hands.

There is a lot of talk about environmental awareness and saying no to plastic and terms like ecotourism, sustainability, environment have become fancy words. But what was happening at Hutridurga went beyond mere platitudes, it was real action and everyone in the group, young and old were actively doing their mite towards sustaining the environment.

About Hutridurga – Prekking Programme in Hutridurga

Hutridurga is a relatively lesser-known trekking destination located around 65 kilometres from Bangalore. It is situated in the Kunigal Taluk, about 15 kilometres from the town of Kunigal. The Hutridurga Hill is actually a hill fort that dates back to the times of Kempegowda in the16th century, Kempegowda is credited with the fortification of Bengaluru.

Today the ruins of the ancient Hutridurga fort and its remnants are visible on the Hutridurga Hill also known as Uttari Betta. The fort was a seven-layered structure and one had to cross seven fortified gates to reach the top of the fort.

What remains today are parts of the fort wall, the gates, a temple to Shiva at the summit known as Sankarakumbi known. The temple is known as Shankareshwara and has a Shivling with a Nandi statue. It is a live temple and ritual worship is performed on Mondays and Fridays. There are ruins of other structures lying around the hill, some of which are associated with Tipu Sultan. Hutridurga was also a military base of Tipu Sultan in his fight against the British.

Opposite the ancient Shiva temple is a small rectangular water body which is a natural spring and is perennially filled with water. This spring is known as Dodda Done.

A small village that locals call Alada Mara (Banyan Tree) lies at the base of the Hutridurga Hill. Further down the hill is the village of Santhepete.

The Hutridurga Trek 

The group who had gathered for the Prekking programme looked enthusiastically upwards towards the small temple at the top of the hill. They were rearing to be off and up the hill.

The office-bearers of the Hutridurga Samrakshana Samiti, who are actively engaged in the development of the place as an ec0-tourism and heritage tourism destination gave a short and informative brief of the history of the place to the participants of the Prekking Programme. After brief addresses by Mr Mohamed Farouk, Director, India Tourism Bangalore and Mr Shaheed of Dharthi NGO, Prajwal and his team from BMC Adventures issued instructions to the participants of the Prekking programme and handed out disposable gloves and garbage bags for collecting the litter from the nooks and crannies of the Hutridurga fort.

And then they were off. They rummaged in the bushes, dodged behind boulders, and picked up plastic bottles, plastic wrappers, and loads of plastic waste.

The group ascended the hill, the sun now beating down with severity, but the spirits of the group was high.

They enjoyed every bit of what they were doing, they were literally combing the area for plastic, and at the same time enjoying the Hutridurga trek.

One after the other, the ancient gates of the fort were passed and soon the group was at the summit.

The views from the summit were spectacular, to say the least, however, eyes were peeled open and the lookout for plastic was on!

The Pledge – Prekking Programme In Hutridurga

After a brief halt for a light, packed lunch, the group cut across a rocky path and made their way through tall grass to reach a large expanse of rocky surface that offered lovely views of the surrounding hills including Savandurga. It was here that the group assembled to take the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan pledge, led by Mr Mohamed Farouk, Director, India Tourism.

Mahatma Gandhi dreamt of an India which was not only free but also clean and developed.

Mahatma Gandhi secured freedom for Mother India.

Now it is our duty to serve Mother India by keeping the country neat and clean.

I take this pledge that I will remain committed towards cleanliness and devote time for this.

I will devote 100 hours per year, that is two hours per week, to voluntarily work for cleanliness.

I will neither litter not let others litter.

I will initiate the quest for cleanliness with myself, my family, my locality, my village and my work place.

I believe that the countries of the world that appear clean are so because their citizens don’t indulge in littering nor do they allow it to happen.

With this firm belief, I will propagate the message of Swachh Bharat Mission in villages and towns.

I will encourage 100 other persons to take this pledge which I am taking today.

I will endeavour to make them devote their 100 hours for cleanliness.

I am confident that every step I take towards cleanliness will help in making my country clean.

Having taken the pledge, the participants of the prekking programme started their journey downwards. But the job was still not over. They continued to pick up plastic trash religiously and reached the bottom of the hill with garbage bags, filled to the brim.

The participants were given participation certificates from India Tourism Bangalore, bringing the curtains down on a day well spent.

The prekking programme had been a success with the participants demonstrating great enthusiasm to contribute towards keeping the environment clean. It was really gratifying to see the sense of commitment displayed by the group. It was heartening to see the zeal displayed by the kids and the fact that their parents encouraged and supported them in this endeavour.

The tricolour swayed merrily in the breeze and as we looked at the kids and their enthusiasm for what they were doing, we could sense a flicker of hope for the sustainability of our planet and its environment.

We were hosted by India Tourism Bangalore – Ministry of Tourism Government of India. However, the views and opinions expressed here are our own.

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