Environment
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Haridwar clears thousands of tonnes after Kanwar Yatra
NDTV··12 Aug
After the Kanwar Yatra, Haridwar authorities reported moving about 7,000 tonnes of garbage to dumping grounds, with some civic estimates near 8,000 metric tonnes overall. Nearly five crore pilgrims visited to collect Ganga water during this Sawan season. Cleanup videos showed discarded clothes, plastic waste and bottles containing urine left in changing rooms at Har Ki Pauri.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Visitors returning to Haridwar ghats this week will see ongoing special cleaning drives through mid-August.
- Residents near mela grounds and Kanwar routes may face temporary dumping and truck movement during clearance.
- Pilgrims planning future yatras can note plastic sheets, bottles and discarded clothes as the main waste streams reported.
What's Happening
- Haridwar reported roughly 7,000 to 8,000 tonnes of post-Kanwar waste after a record pilgrim turnout.
- Sanitation workers cleared ghats overnight, including changing rooms where urine-filled bottles were found.
- A week-long special cleanliness campaign and textile recycling of discarded clothes are underway.
Pilgrim Scale Versus Civic Waste Capacity
- About 4.8 crore devotees collected Ganga water at Har Ki Pauri this season, per police estimates.
- The city normally generates far less waste over a fortnight than the mela added this year.
- Similar post-yatra piles of plastic and clothing were reported after the 2025 pilgrimage.
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