HARIDWAR — Haridwar Municipal Corporation has collected about 8,000 metric tonnes of waste from the city’s ghats, mela grounds, parking areas and pilgrimage routes following this year’s Kanwar Yatra, adding pressure to sanitation operations after a record turnout of devotees.
The pilgrimage ended on Tuesday after about 4.8 crore Kanwariyas collected Ganga water from Har-ki-Pauri, according to police estimates. The figure exceeded the previous record of about 4.5 crore in 2025.
Municipal Commissioner Nandan Kumar said the corporation collected around 8,000 metric tonnes of waste across the Kanwar Mela area between July 30 and Aug. 12. Much of it was found along riverbanks and in parking areas used by vehicles carrying Dak Kanwariyas, with plastic sheets and discarded clothing among the main waste items, he said.
The corporation has launched a special week-long cleanliness campaign to remove remaining waste and restore public areas and the Ganga riverfront. Officials said waste was also being segregated for recycling, including discarded clothing that is being processed through an initiative involving non-governmental organisations. Other recyclable material is being handled at a waste-processing plant in Sarai village, Kumar said.
The latest waste figure is higher than the estimated 7,000 tonnes collected after last year’s pilgrimage. Haridwar normally generates about 200 metric tonnes of municipal waste a day, according to officials cited by local media.
The scale of the cleanup comes despite measures introduced before the pilgrimage to reduce single-use plastic. The municipal corporation said it had seized plastic sheets and polythene bags from markets and deployed volunteers to discourage pilgrims from using plastic sheets. Officials nevertheless reported large quantities of such material along riverbanks after the event.
Police said the record pilgrimage caused less disruption to traffic than in previous years, citing advance planning, designated routes and the newly operational Delhi-Dehradun Expressway. The authorities also reported 12 Kanwariya deaths by drowning and six deaths in road accidents, while nearly 400 people were rescued after being swept away while bathing in the Ganga.
With the pilgrimage concluded, municipal authorities are continuing the week-long cleanup while segregation and recycling operations proceed across affected areas.
