World · India Bureau
Volunteers Launch Clean-up Drive to Remove Waste from Ganga Riverbed in Haridwar
Community volunteers have mobilized to tackle severe pollution in the Ganga at Haridwar, where accumulated textiles and plastic waste have buried sections of the riverbed. The initiative highlights growing concerns over environmental degradation of India's holiest river.
LSN India ·
A coordinated clean-up effort is underway in Haridwar as volunteers work to remove substantial quantities of discarded clothes, plastic, and other waste materials that have accumulated on the Ganga riverbed. The accumulation has raised alarm among environmental advocates and river conservationists, who point to the deposits as evidence of inadequate waste management practices affecting the sacred waterway.
The volunteers have organized systematic collection drives to extract the buried waste, focusing on sections where pollution has been most visible. Local residents and environmental groups have participated in the efforts, reflecting mounting public concern about the health of the river that flows through multiple states and sustains millions of people across northern India.
The clean-up initiative underscores persistent challenges in maintaining the Ganga's ecological integrity despite decades of remediation efforts and government programs aimed at river restoration. Haridwar, one of India's most significant pilgrimage sites, receives millions of visitors annually, and the riverbed conditions have prompted renewed calls for stricter waste disposal regulations and enhanced monitoring of pollution sources along the river's course.
Environmental experts stress that addressing riverbed contamination requires sustained action beyond individual clean-up drives, pointing to the need for comprehensive waste management infrastructure and enforcement of pollution control measures throughout the Ganga basin.