Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 04:13pm on 12 Aug 2026,Wednesday Weather & Environment
Haridwar is grappling with a waste crisis after nearly five crore pilgrims visited during the Kanwar Yatra. Authorities said at least 7,000 tonnes of garbage was transported to dumping grounds, with discarded clothes, plastics and Kanwar structures littering ghats and roads. At Har ki Pauri, videos showed cleaners without gloves or masks removing water bottles filled with urine from changing rooms using shovels, triggering outrage among locals. Municipal Commissioner Nandan Kumar said teams worked overnight after Shivratri to clean ghats, parking areas and roads. In Gangotri, which received an estimated 57,000 pilgrims, 57 sacks of waste were collected despite the area being designated plastic-free, raising concerns over the fragile Himalayan ecosystem.
