Harshita Mathur, Pune
The Kanwar yatra that began in Haridwar on July 4 in the month of Sawan and was concluded on July 15 has reportedly left behind 30,000 metric tons of garbage. A record 40 million Shiva worshippers who visited the holy city for the yearly Kanwar Yatra have left the authorities in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar troubled as they have begun working extra hard to clean nearly 30,000 metric tons of rubbish accumulated there. A 42-km length of Kanwar from Har-ki-Pauri was covered in rubbish, including the Ganga Ghats, marketplaces, parking spaces, and highways.
As per authorities, the sacred city may take weeks to completely clean. Dayanand Saraswati, the municipal town commissioner, said that the cleanup of the trash and debris started on Saturday, when the workers worked for more than 24 hours to clean the ghats, roads, bridges, parking lots, etc., around the river Ganga. He also stated that the number of workers given the cleaning task has been increased to 600 so that the work is done on time. Fogging and spraying of insecticides are also being done in the Mela area.
According to officials, Haridwar typically produces 200–300 metric tons of garbage daily, but during the Kanwar Yatra and other festivities, this number rises to 500–2000 metric tons. It was also stated that a seven-day rainstorm during the Kanwar Yatra also impacted waste disposal and collection. To consider this situation, the Haridwar Municipal Corporation has ordered 40 more trash-transporting vehicles, bringing the total to 140.
On Sunday, hundreds of police officers and senior police superintendent Ajay Singh also cleaned at Haridwar’s Vishnu Ghat.
The local priests have taken up the duty to spread awareness regarding the same, as they have stated that the sanctity of a holy place should be adhered to by the devotees, and they should not indulge in any activities that may hamper the religiosity of the place.