Haridwar admin faces uphill task of clearing tonnes of garbage from city

{ AS KANWAR YATRA COMES TO END

- Sandeep Rawat

The annual Kanwar Yatra, which witnessed a footfall of over 40 million Kanwariyas, will end on Wednesday on the occasion of Shravan Shivratri, with Haridwar administration now staring ata challenging task of cleaning the city and surrounding areas of thousands of tonnes of waste.

The Haridwar district administration has deployed over 1,000 additional sanitation workers to tackle the massive post-pilgrimage challenge. From the revered Har-ki-Pauri Ghat to the 42-km stretch of the Kanwar route, the sacred city is littered with plastic waste, polythene bags, food leftovers, discarded bamboo Kanwars, dumped clothes, and other remnants of the mega pilgrimage. Key public spaces including the Ganga ghats, marketplaces, highways, parking areas, and walkways are now covered with visible heaps of garbage.