On July 15, the annual “Kanwar Yatra” came to an end, with a record-breaking influx of Lord Shiva worshippers arriving at the town of Haridwar to draw water from the River Ganga. Over 28,000 metric tonnes of waste, or roughly five times as much as the city produces in a month’s worth of waste, were left behind by the unexpected rush.
It has been reported that the holy town of Haridwar has become immersed in a sea of garbage due to this year’s unprecedented gathering of kanwariyas, which is being purported to have exceeded 4 crores. According to a report in the Times of India, over the course of the 12-day Kanwar yatra, Haridwar has been overwhelmed by up to 30,000 metric tonnes (MT) of garbage.
According to Haridwar municipal commissioner Dayanand Saraswati, who spoke to the ToI, the area has been left littered with empty bottles, discarded clothing, plastic bags, and other trash, with at least 50% of the waste being plastic. Open defecation along the Ganga, which is usual during the Kanwar Yatra, made the pollution worse. Open defecation along the Ganga is estimated to have contributed approximately 10,000 tonnes of faecal waste into the river. It is anticipated that the total waste produced over the 12-day yatra in the neighbourhood will amount to 27,810 MT.
Commissioner Saraswati further stated that the authorities will need a few weeks in order to clean the whole city. As per the Outlook report, the Haridwar Municipal Corporation reportedly has arranged for 40 more garbage ferrying vehicles to their regular service for faster cleanup. He also informed the media that the cleaning process started on Saturday and continued by saying, “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 time-bound cleaning. We have also started spraying insecticides and fogging in the mela area.”
It is being purported that the staggering amount of waste reproduced this year has put immense pressure on the town’s infrastructure and resources. Additionally, the seven-day rain spell in Uttarakhand during the Kanwar Yatra affected the proper garbage collection and disposal, said the officials as per a report by the Outlook.
It is essential to note that dealing with large amount of waste production is not limited to this year, but has been an issue associated with the Yatra for many years. Last year too, the Kanwar Yatra season had generated about 30,000 MT of waste, a quantity that Haridwar typically produces in 4 to 5 months.
Damage to this environment, local left dealing with the mess
The executive engineer of Jal Sansthan, Rakesh Chauhan, revealed that around 3.5 MLD (35 lakh litres) of human waste was handled at the plants during the event. Haridwar’s sewage treatment plants were overburdened during the yatra.
Haridwar resident Dr. Vijay Verma raised alarm about the pollution, telling ToI that “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.”
As stated in a report by the Outlook, Mahamandaleshwar Hari Chetnanand Maharaj of Udasin Akhada reportedly said that according to old scriptures, if a pilgrim pollutes the sacred Ganga, ghats and other places of worship during their pilgrimage, it is not considered successful. He also said, “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.”
According to a local priest by the name of Ujjwal Pundit, pilgrims and tourists need to be educated and made aware of the necessity to maintain the cleanliness of the Ganga and Haridwar.
According to the reports, Activist Anoop Nautiyal shared his point of view to curb the pollution of the holy river and the pilgrimage areas, he said, “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,” the Outlook report stated.
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