Haridwar tackles 7,000 tonnes of waste after Kanwar Yatra

14 AUGUST 2026

The Haridwar administration has launched a special clean-up drive to remove around 7,000 tonnes of waste left behind after the 12-day Kanwar Yatra.
Around 50 million pilgrims reportedly participated in the pilgrimage.
The waste included discarded clothes, slippers, plastic items and bottles.
Around 1,700 tonnes of waste reportedly accumulated across the city during the last two days of the yatra alone.
Haridwar normally produces around 200–250 tonnes of garbage per day, so the additional waste created a major burden for the civic authorities.
Shri Ganga Sabha, which manages religious activities at several Haridwar ghats, also expressed concern about the waste.
Its president Nitin Gautam said the organisation plans to conduct an awareness campaign next year encouraging Kanwariyas not to leave waste or bottles on the ghats.
The broader concern is that large-scale pilgrimage tourism is creating significant waste-management and environmental challenges, particularly around the Ganga and its religious ghats.

Kanwar Yatra

The Kanwar Yatra is an annual Hindu pilgrimage undertaken by devotees known as Kanwariyas.
It is during the Hindu month of Shravan (Sawan), usually around July–August.
They travel, often on foot, to collect holy water from the Ganga, particularly from places such as Haridwar, and carry it back to their local temples to offer it to Lord Shiva.