Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, her cabinet colleagues, BJP MPs, MLAs and the state unit of the BJP workers launched a special clean-up drive on the Yamuna ghats hours after the conclusion of Chhath puja on early Tuesday morning.
Accompanied by Culture and Tourism Minister Kampil Mishra, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta launched a special clean-up drive at Vasudev Ghat on the Yamuna ghat near Kashmeri Gate and collected litter, including water bottles, flowers, diyas and other solid waste.
She also swept a portion of the ghat. The Chief Minister remarked that after the grand celebration of the Chhath Mahaparv, restoring the ghats to their pristine state, with cleanliness and ecological balance, is a collective responsibility.
“Chhath festival was celebrated across the city and some waste is expected to have been left behind. We will clean it up through a special drive,” she told reporters. The waste items floating on Yamuna surface and the entire premises of Vasudev Ghat are being cleaned up, she said, adding that everyone needs to join the drive.
“Sanitation work needs to be carried out round the clock, throughout the year. It is a sustained effort that needs to be undertaken by the Government and the people as well,” she stated.
Cleanliness, she emphasised, is not a one-day event but a continuous effort that must go on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, throughout the year with equal participation from both the Government and the public.
The Chief Minister also mentioned that the Delhi Government has conducted special cleanliness drives across the city after Diwali, Valmiki Jayanti, and now after the Chhath Mahaparv.
She stated that since the Chhath Mahaparv was celebrated across Delhi’s colonies, canals, and Yamuna ghats, the Government has ensured that all such sites are cleaned immediately after the festivities.
The Chief Minister informed that any visible waste or litter along the Yamuna riverbanks and ghat premises is being cleared without delay.
She further appealed to public representatives, volunteers, and departmental officers across Delhi to pay special attention to maintaining cleanliness in their respective areas.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, accompanied by Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh, launched a Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) campaign to collect garbage at the Yamuna Ghats and artificial ponds created in parks and other areas for Chhath.
Sachdeva said all BJP MPs, MLAs, and councilors in Delhi are conducting symbolic campaigns at various Ghats today to motivate the corporation staff.
BJP MP from South Delhi, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, along with party workers, volunteered at the Harkesh Nagar Chhath Ghat in the Tughlakabad Assembly constituency, cleaning the entire ghat and grounds.
BJP News Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj participated in the cleanliness drive held at Ajmal Khan Park, Karol Bagh Chhath Ghat.
The Delhi Government this year prepared Chhath ghats at 17 points across the Yamuna from Palla on Haryana border to Kalindikunj, besides setting up around 1,500 other ghats within the city.