CM Rekha Gupta leads cleanliness drive held at 70 Yamuna ghats across Delhi

“Cleanliness is not just a campaign but a way of life. Ensuring that no waste reaches the Yamuna is our collective responsibility,” CM Rekha Gupta said. (Express Phoro by Abhinav Saha)

Thousands of people participated in a mega cleanliness drive at 70 Yamuna ghats across Delhi on Sunday under the ‘Chalo Yamuna Campaign’, with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta joining volunteers to remove trash at Haathi Ghat near ITO, officials said.

Gupta also urged people to become ‘Yamuna Praharis’ and contribute to keep the river clean.

The drive saw participation from young people, Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), non-governmental organisations, social organisations and public representatives, who volunteered to clean the ghats and surrounding areas on both sides of the river, officials said.

Gupta said the response to the campaign reflected the sense of responsibility among the people of Delhi towards the Yamuna. She said the river could be cleaned only through sustained public participation alongside the government’s efforts.

“Cleanliness is not just a campaign but a way of life. Ensuring that no waste reaches the Yamuna is our collective responsibility,” the CM said.

During the drive, volunteers found clothes offered to deities, damaged idols, puja materials and other waste in and around the river. Gupta urged people not to immerse religious offerings or leave plastic wrappers and other waste at the ghats.

Public Works Department Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh, said: “From every ghat, citizens and government stood as one for Maa Yamuna. Dozens of machines, including trash skimmers and weed harvesters of the Flood department worked in the river, while more than 250 PWD maintenance vans and hundreds of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) vehicles worked the banks. Together, we removed hundreds of tonnes of waste in a single day…. Cleaning the river and its banks is now regular work, not a one-day event. At the same time, work on new sewage treatment plants, sewer connections and drain cleaning is going on at full speed to stop dirty water from entering the river. In the next 2–3 years, Delhi will see a clean Yamuna.”

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Gupta also said the government was working at various levels to reduce pollution in the river. Work had begun on setting up sewage treatment plants (STPs) and decentralised sewage treatment plants to tap drains discharging into the Yamuna, she said. Desilting of drains across the city was also underway, officials said.

According to the CM, millions of tonnes of silt were removed from Delhi’s drains last year. The government was prioritising work aimed at controlling the sources of pollution entering the river, she said.