7,000 tonnes of garbage, bottles of urine: Haridwar launches mega cleanup after Kanwar Yatra

The annual Kanwar Yatra is over and it has left the holy city of Haridwar with over 7000 tonnes of garbage. The two-week ‘Kanwar Yatra’ in which approximately 48 million pilgrims participated was the the highest number on record. But as they left after Shivratri, they left behind heaps of trash. Visuals showed discarded clothing, plastic items, rotten flowers and Kanwar structures scattered on the ghats. Municipal officials said that the areas worst affected by the unregulated dumping of waste are the numerous ‘ghats’ on the Ganga river, markets where pilgrims stopped to rest and eat.

Speaking to media, Nandan Kumar, municipal corporation town commissioner said, “…approximately 7000 tonnes of garbage was generated during the two weeks of Kanwar yatra. It is being cleared since Tuesday evening, as Kanwariyas started leaving the city for their respective destinations after the Shravan Shivratri Ganga Aarti. Sanitation workers have been deployed in groups around Har-ki-Pauri and the Mela. Waste collection and disposal is also being carried out in city markets, lanes, roads and parking lots on a war footing.

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Haridwar will need a “mega cleanliness” drive

The Haridwar district administration has launched a mega cleanliness drive from August 12 to 18 to restore cleanliness in the district to pre-Kanwar fair levels.

“Heaps of garbage and waste are lying at Ganga ghats, in the Kanwar Mela zone, along the Kanwar patri and throughout the pedestrian routes used by Kanwariyas to travel, rest and camp, as well as at vehicle parking areas,” Lalit Narayan Mishra, chief development officer, said.“While civic agencies are already involved in the clearance, it is vital that local residents, the saint community, religious organisations, educational institutions, volunteers and traders also participate,” Mishra said.

Mishra further said municipal corporations, local authorities including district and village panchayats were working round the clock on waste collection and disposal. The work is being monitored on site and online by senior officials to ensure time-bound clearance of waste, he said.

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Sanitation worker deployment

Civic authorities have deployed over 1000 sanitation personnel and 100 outsourced workers for the drive, along with 80 garbage collection, transportation and disposal vehicles.

The city’s seer community has extended support to the district administration’s initiative to involve stakeholders and local residents in the post-Kanwar cleanliness drive.

The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, the apex body of recognised akhadas, has informed the district administration that monks and office-bearers of various akhadas would participate in the cleanliness drive.

“Kanwar pilgrimage is an ancient tradition and in recent years the number of Kanwariyas has crossed the four-crore mark, so waste generation is bound to increase manifold. We fully support the administration’s initiative to seek voluntary participation from individuals. By participating in this post-Kanwar cleanliness drive, people will also derive spiritual satisfaction as they will indirectly be helping clean Ganga and reduce pollution,” said Akhara Parishad president Mahant Ravindra Puri of Niranjani Akhada.