plog
Plogging is a combination of jogging with picking up litter (merging the Swedish verbs plocka upp (pick up) and jogga (jog) gives the new Swedish verb plogga, from which the word plogging derives). It started as an organized activity in Sweden around 2016 and spread to other countries in 2018, following increased concern about plastic pollution. As a workout, it provides variation in body movements by adding bending, squatting and stretching to the main action of running, hiking, or walking.
Erik Ahlström started plogging in the Swedish capital city, Stockholm. He created the website Plogga to organize the activity and encourage volunteers.
Ripu Daman Bevli, introduced the concept of plogging in India and he is known as the Plogman of India. He commenced Litter Free India movement, which combines Swachh Bharat and FIT India Missions. Till 2021, more than 500 cleanups across 80 cities under the Litter Free India movement have been organizedand have seen a participation of close to 1 crore (10 million) people. The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has plogged to lead by example for his Swachh Bharat Mission to clean up India.
PepsiCo India organized a plog run in Delhi in the year 2019 on 2nd October, with set of their volunteers, NGO partners and Government of India supporting the cause. Over 200 volunteers plogged the busy India Gate Road. This action on ground was widely appreciated by the media and government. The buzzing volunteering set of a trend of influencing the morning joggers to join them in the act.
Bask in the early morning sun of divinity on the birthday of our country’s beloved father. Walk in his path of active participation of cleanliness, determination, and service. We will Plog run together as heroes to wake the slumber of ignorance in a pair of new Crocs and upbeat of music. With big strides and killer moves, we sweat out the calories, pick up the waste and PLOG
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was launched 2nd October, 2014, marking the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The campaign aimed to achieve clean India by 2019. The campaign turned into national movement evoking sense of responsibility among the citizens.
Swachh Survekshan, conducted by MoHUA since 2016, is the world’s largest urban sanitation and cleanliness survey. It has been instrumental in fostering a spirit of healthy competition among towns and cities to improve their service delivery to citizens and towards creating cleaner cities.
The primary goal of Swachh Survekshans is to encourage large scale citizen participation and create awareness amongst all sections of society about the importance of working together towards making towns and cities better places to reside in.
The Mission is being implemented under the overarching principles of “waste to wealth”, and “Circular Economy”.
It focuses on source segregation of garbage, reduction in single-use plastic and air pollution, by effectively managing waste from construction and demolition activities and bioremediation of all legacy dump sites.
Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi was also seen plogging at a beach in Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu in 2019
“Plogging at a beach in Mamallapuram this morning. It lasted for over 30 minutes. Also handed over my ‘collection’ to Jeyaraj, who is a part of the hotel staff. Let us ensure our public places are clean and tidy! Let us also ensure we remain fit and healthy.”.
Social Stories
PepsiCo India Partners with United Way India for the City’s biggest Plog Run in Delhi, NCR
India Plog Run 2019 was Aligned with 'Swachhata Hi Seva’ and ‘Stay Fit India’
India Plog Run 2019 being flagged off by Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri
When Delhi gave plastic a run for its money