After the Kanwar Yatra concluded on July 15, authorities in Uttarakhands Haridwar have been left with the task of cleaning up close to 30,000 metric tonnes of garbage that have been left by the Kanwariya devotees.This years Kanwar Yatra had a turnout of more than 4 crore Shiva devotees, who arrived in Haridwar from around the country to collect water from the Ganges.Haridwar : Administration cleaning 30000 Metric tonne of garbage( Mostly Plastic and other stuff) from National Highway to HarkiPauri. @indiatvnews (We want clean home, But why not National Highway to HarKiPauri). pic.twitter.com/1dhyXq664H— Manish Prasad (@manishindiatv) July 17, 2023This massive influx of people has left a massive pile of waste materials like plastic bottles and bags, discarded clothing items, and other waste materials all over the ghats, markets, parking lots, and roads along the 42-kilometre Kanwar route from Har Ki Pauri.Almost half of the waste generated was plastic waste, Municipal Town Commissioner Dayanand Saraswati told. Polythene is prohibited in Haridwar.Haridwar authorities working round-the-clock to clean mountains of wasteThe Haridwar Police started an initiative on Sunday to clean up the waste around Vishnu Ghat.एसएसपी हरिद्वार अजय सिंह की पहल पर हरिद्वार पुलिस द्वारा गोद लिए गए विष्णु घाट पर चलाया गया सफाई अभियानकांवड़ मेले के उपरांत विष्णु घाट एवं उसके आसपास फैली गंदगी को पुलिस टीम द्वारा किया गया साफ#gangaghat #cleanindiamission #CleanGanga pic.twitter.com/V7Lkf1lI9F— Haridwar Police Uttarakhand (@haridwarpolice) July 16, 2023“Round-the-clock cleaning of the Ganga ghats, roads, bridges, parking lots, and a temporary bus stand is being carried out. We have increased the number of workers to 600 for the time-bound cleaning. We have also started spraying insecticides and fogging in the mela area,” Commissioner Saraswati said.The amount of waste left behind by the Kanwariyas, which is around 30,000 metric tonnes, is usually produced after four to five months.5 key data takeaways:A. 4 Crore Kanwariyas in #Haridwar in 12 daysB. 3 Crore KG total waste generatedC. 1 Crore KG fecal waste generatedD. 50% plastic wasteE. 10X waste (12 days) compared to normalState needs to recognise challenge & invest in waste infra/behaviour change pic.twitter.com/zNSqO61AHE— Anoop Nautiyal (@Anoopnautiyal1) July 16, 2023Another aspect of the mountain of waste was almost 10,000 metric tonnes of faecal matter which flowed into the Ganges River – a result of widespread open defecation by the devotees.“Considering that each kanwariya generates around 80 to 150 gm of faecal waste, and with millions of pilgrims resorting to open defecation, the volume of faecal waste finding its way into the Ganga easily surpasses 10,000 tonnes,” NGO Society of Pollution and Environmental Conservation Scientists (SPECS)s Brijmohan Sharma told Times of India.Rakesh Chauhan, an executive engineer of Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan revealed that around 3.5 megalitres per day of human waste have been treated at the sewage treatment plants during the Kanwar Yatra.Priests, activists slam Kanwar Yatra devotees for dumping waste in HaridwarThe mountain of waste left behind by the devotees has attracted widespread criticism from local priests and residents.“In Vedic scriptures even staying at Har-ki-Pauri or near revered shrines is not considered appropriate as the sanctity of such holy places gets affected. Devotees should ensure they do not commit any such unreligious act,” Mahamandaleshwar Hari Chetnanand Maharaj of Uttarakhands Udasin Akhada said. He added that holy pilgrimages cannot be regarded as successful if the sacred places are polluted by the pilgrims.“During the kanwar yatra, all directives from the courts and regulatory bodies aimed at safeguarding the environment seem to be disregarded. Urgent action is needed to address this pressing issue and protect our ecology,” Times of India quoted Haridwar resident Dr Vijay Verma.Ideally, the Govt of #Uttarakhand should review & document gaps & challenges from the recently concluded #KanwarYatra2023. It should simultaneously start working on next years Yatra (2024). With a footfall of 4/5 crore people over ~15 days, this needs year-long focus & planning!— Anoop Nautiyal (@Anoopnautiyal1) July 17, 2023“If such a huge amount of garbage is left at Ganga ghats, then it is a failure of local administration. …Segregation of garbage and waste material lying in the open amid rainy spells is impossible. So eventually it will go to landfill or dumping sites. Every year Kanwar pilgrimage is held so long-term planning is required…NGOs, experts on waste material management should also be roped in,” said Uttarakhand-based social activist Anoop Nautiyal.
