Press Release
Press Release from Block Administrative Centre, Passingdang Dzongu
Information & Public Relations Department
Historic Conservation Milestone: Sacred Tholung Monastery Trail Declared Plastic-Free Zone on the Eve of Pang Lhabsol.
Under the Banner of ‘Clean Tholung Campaign-2026’
DZONGU, AUGUST 28, 2026: In a historic community-led ecological initiative, the sacred trekking corridor leading to the revered Tholung Monastery in Upper Dzongu has been comprehensively cleaned and declared a Plastic-Free Zone under the banner ‘Clean Tholung Campaign-2026’.
Spearheaded by the Block Administrative Centre (BAC), Passingdang, in close collaboration with the Tholung Gumpa Management Committee and all seven Gram Panchayat Units (GPUs) under the block, the three-day cleanliness mission successfully retrieved years of accumulated legacy waste from a challenging 16-kilometre high-altitude trail stretching from Bay village to Thegung.
Nestled deep within the Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP), Tholung Monastery holds immense spiritual and cultural significance, particularly for the indigenous Lepcha community of Dzongu and Buddhist devotees. The monastery is renowned for preserving centuries-old sacred Buddhist artefacts, which are displayed to devotees once every three years during the grand Khamsel ceremony. The valley attracts thousands of pilgrims during Khamsel and Pang Lhabsol, who undertake an arduous trek through dense forests, waterfalls and natural hot springs from Bay village under Sakyong-Pentong GPU to the monastery, with the trail extending another three kilometres to the sacred site of Thegung, where pilgrims seek holy water and blessings.
Over the years, heavy pilgrim footfall in this remote and ecologically fragile landscape had resulted in the accumulation of non-biodegradable waste along the trekking route and around the monastery complex. Recognising the need to restore both the ecological integrity and spiritual sanctity of this sacred landscape, BAC Passingdang undertook the intensive three-day Clean Tholung Campaign-2026 from August 26 to 28, culminating on the auspicious occasion of Pang Lhabsol.
A team of community volunteers, panchayat representatives and employees of BAC, Passingdang, Gram Panchayat Units, Forest Department, Mangan Nagar Panchayats, Executive Members of Employees Association (Group C&D) Mangan District, State Bank of Sikkim, Dzongu branch were mobilised along the entire 16-kilometre stretch. Volunteers systematically collected discarded plastic packaging, wrappers, bottles and other non-biodegradable waste accumulated over the years.
On August 27, a full-day sanitation and restoration exercise was undertaken at Thegung and around long-standing dumping points adjoining the monastery. Old ritual offerings, weathered khadas and lungta (prayer flags) were respectfully retrieved, sorted and securely packed for appropriate disposal.
In a significant first, Information Education Communication (IEC) signboards were installed at every resting shed along the trekking route, carrying messages encouraging pilgrims and trekkers to practise responsible, plastic-free and zero-waste travel and to preserve the sacredness of the trail.
On August 28, following the Pang Lhabsol celebrations, volunteers and returning devotees carried the collected waste bags back down to Bay village. From the trailhead, a dedicated Resource Recovery Vehicle (RRV) transported the segregated waste to the Plastic Waste Management Unit (PWMU) at BAC Passingdang for further processing and scientific management.
The campaign also represents a meaningful convergence of tradition, community participation and environmental stewardship. Since the era of the Chogyals of Sikkim, the eleven Mondals of Dzongu have preserved the tradition of celebrating Pang Lhabsol on a rotational basis. This year’s observance has added a new dimension to that legacy by transforming traditional reverence for the sacred landscape into a collective commitment towards its long-term conservation.
The Block Administrative Centre, Passingdang, expresses its deepest gratitude to the Hon’ble Minister-cum-Area MLA Shri Pintso Namgyal Lepcha for his inspiration and guidance, as well as to the Tholung Gumpa Management Committee, Mondals of Passingdang-Saffo GPU and Lingthem GPU, Zilla Panchayats, Gram Panchayats and community volunteers for their invaluable logistical support, including food, shelter and porterage in a terrain where transportation and head-loading pose significant challenges.
The successful completion of Clean Tholung Campaign-2026 marks not an end, but the beginning of a long-term heritage and ecological conservation movement for Tholung. BAC Passingdang appeals to all future pilgrims, trekkers and visitors to uphold the sanctity of this sacred landscape by strictly avoiding single-use plastics, carrying back all non-biodegradable waste to the base, and leaving no trace behind.
Under the Banner of ‘Clean Tholung Campaign-2026’
DZONGU, AUGUST 28, 2026: In a historic community-led ecological initiative, the sacred trekking corridor leading to the revered Tholung Monastery in Upper Dzongu has been comprehensively cleaned and declared a Plastic-Free Zone under the banner ‘Clean Tholung Campaign-2026’.
Spearheaded by the Block Administrative Centre (BAC), Passingdang, in close collaboration with the Tholung Gumpa Management Committee and all seven Gram Panchayat Units (GPUs) under the block, the three-day cleanliness mission successfully retrieved years of accumulated legacy waste from a challenging 16-kilometre high-altitude trail stretching from Bay village to Thegung.
Nestled deep within the Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP), Tholung Monastery holds immense spiritual and cultural significance, particularly for the indigenous Lepcha community of Dzongu and Buddhist devotees. The monastery is renowned for preserving centuries-old sacred Buddhist artefacts, which are displayed to devotees once every three years during the grand Khamsel ceremony. The valley attracts thousands of pilgrims during Khamsel and Pang Lhabsol, who undertake an arduous trek through dense forests, waterfalls and natural hot springs from Bay village under Sakyong-Pentong GPU to the monastery, with the trail extending another three kilometres to the sacred site of Thegung, where pilgrims seek holy water and blessings.
Over the years, heavy pilgrim footfall in this remote and ecologically fragile landscape had resulted in the accumulation of non-biodegradable waste along the trekking route and around the monastery complex. Recognising the need to restore both the ecological integrity and spiritual sanctity of this sacred landscape, BAC Passingdang undertook the intensive three-day Clean Tholung Campaign-2026 from August 26 to 28, culminating on the auspicious occasion of Pang Lhabsol.
A team of community volunteers, panchayat representatives and employees of BAC, Passingdang, Gram Panchayat Units, Forest Department, Mangan Nagar Panchayats, Executive Members of Employees Association (Group C&D) Mangan District, State Bank of Sikkim, Dzongu branch were mobilised along the entire 16-kilometre stretch. Volunteers systematically collected discarded plastic packaging, wrappers, bottles and other non-biodegradable waste accumulated over the years.
On August 27, a full-day sanitation and restoration exercise was undertaken at Thegung and around long-standing dumping points adjoining the monastery. Old ritual offerings, weathered khadas and lungta (prayer flags) were respectfully retrieved, sorted and securely packed for appropriate disposal.
In a significant first, Information Education Communication (IEC) signboards were installed at every resting shed along the trekking route, carrying messages encouraging pilgrims and trekkers to practise responsible, plastic-free and zero-waste travel and to preserve the sacredness of the trail.
On August 28, following the Pang Lhabsol celebrations, volunteers and returning devotees carried the collected waste bags back down to Bay village. From the trailhead, a dedicated Resource Recovery Vehicle (RRV) transported the segregated waste to the Plastic Waste Management Unit (PWMU) at BAC Passingdang for further processing and scientific management.
The campaign also represents a meaningful convergence of tradition, community participation and environmental stewardship. Since the era of the Chogyals of Sikkim, the eleven Mondals of Dzongu have preserved the tradition of celebrating Pang Lhabsol on a rotational basis. This year’s observance has added a new dimension to that legacy by transforming traditional reverence for the sacred landscape into a collective commitment towards its long-term conservation.
The Block Administrative Centre, Passingdang, expresses its deepest gratitude to the Hon’ble Minister-cum-Area MLA Shri Pintso Namgyal Lepcha for his inspiration and guidance, as well as to the Tholung Gumpa Management Committee, Mondals of Passingdang-Saffo GPU and Lingthem GPU, Zilla Panchayats, Gram Panchayats and community volunteers for their invaluable logistical support, including food, shelter and porterage in a terrain where transportation and head-loading pose significant challenges.
The successful completion of Clean Tholung Campaign-2026 marks not an end, but the beginning of a long-term heritage and ecological conservation movement for Tholung. BAC Passingdang appeals to all future pilgrims, trekkers and visitors to uphold the sanctity of this sacred landscape by strictly avoiding single-use plastics, carrying back all non-biodegradable waste to the base, and leaving no trace behind.
