From cleaning houses before Dashain (Durga Puja) to plogging roads in Darjeeling, the women of the hills have turned an age-old tradition of cleanliness into a modern-day championship.
Darjeeling on Friday hosted the region’s first women's plogging championship supported by the Mero Darjeeling initiative. More than 180 women participated in the championship.
Plogging is a combination of the words 'jogging' and plocka upp, which in Swedish means 'pick up'. The practice was started by Erik Ahlström.
Ahlström’s initiative has spread to over 90 countries, with a world annual plogging championship taking place in Italy for the past five years.
Darjeeling turned the ritual of festive cleaning into civic pride, collecting waste while jogging, and carrying it back for proper disposal.
Together, the women's team gathered an impressive 895kg of litter from the Chowrasta-Mall-Darjeeling zoo and Chowk Bazar stretches, blending tradition with fitness and responsibility.
The format rewarded the quantity of waste collected rather than speed.
Manita Thami, a student of Nepali Girls’ Higher Secondary School, claimed first place with a waste collection of 6.17kg over a period of two hours, followed by Remit Lepcha (6.03kg) and Anupama Tamang with 5.65kg.
Winners received ₹10,000, ₹7,000, and ₹5,000, respectively. On average, each participant carried nearly 5kg of waste.
While the youngest participant was 14-year-old Saloni Mothay, the oldest was Kum Kum Rai, 77, a retired professor of Loreto College.
Pratima Rai, 18, who recently climbed Mount Everest, flagged off the run along with Sherab Lepcha, DSP (traffic), Darjeeling municipality chairperson Dipendra Thakuri and vice-chairperson Prativa Rai Tamang.
Backed by the Mero Darjeeling movement that mobilises citizens to dedicate two hours every weekend to plogging, the women’s event was described as a “stepping stone” towards a larger championship.
Kabya Lama, founding member of Mero Darjeeling, said: “For generations, our women have kept their homes clean with pride. Today, they took the same spirit to the streets, proving that cleanliness and fitness go hand in hand.”
The Mero Darjeeling initiative was started by VikRun Foundation, Darjeeling municipality and the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA)
Everester Pratima said: “A fit body and a clean environment are both essential for a healthy life. I am proud to see the women of Darjeeling leading this change, carrying not just the waste but also the responsibility of inspiring the next generation.”
The plogging initiative that was started in Darjeeling in August this year has spread to other places like Sukhiapokhri and Kalimpong.
Impressed by the initiative, Ahlstrom is looking at visiting Darjeeling in March next year.