Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday launched the ‘Yamuna Chalo’ campaign, with a mega cleanup drive conducted at 70 ghats across the capital. Gupta participated in cleaning work at the ITO ghat and appealed to residents to become ‘Yamuna Praharis’ by helping prevent waste and religious material from reaching the river.
The campaign focused on garbage, broken idols and puja material found at several ghats and near bridges crossing the Yamuna. According to the report, the river passes through a 52-kilometre stretch of Delhi, where waste accumulation remains visible at multiple locations, particularly around public access points.
Gupta said cleaning the Yamuna was not only the government’s responsibility but a shared duty of society. She urged residents to change their behaviour and avoid leaving religious material and other waste on the riverbank or in the river.
The campaign involved Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta, Union Minister of State and Delhi BJP president Harsh Malhotra, Mayor Parvesh Wahi, members of the Delhi government’s council of ministers, MPs Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Yogendra Chandolia, Praveen Khandelwal, Bansuri Swaraj and Kamaljeet Sehrawat, along with legislators, councillors, party workers and voluntary organisations.
Cleanup activities were held at several named locations. The Union minister of state participated at the Yamuna ghat in Geeta Colony, while the mayor joined the drive at Ram Ghat in Wazirabad. Standing committee chairperson Satya Sharma took part in the activity at Sonia Vihar ghat. Vijender Gupta participated at Shyam Ghat near Jagatpur village, where he said the Yamuna had supported Delhi’s civilisation and livelihoods for generations.
Gupta said the success of the cleanup effort would depend not only on removing waste but also on restoring the flow of clean water and making the ghats usable public spaces again. Volunteers who contributed to the campaign were presented with certificates and recognised as ‘Swachh Yamuna Praharis’.
Delhi Water Minister Parvesh Verma, who participated in the campaign at Hathi Ghat near ITO, said the Yamuna cleanup would be treated as a regular process rather than a one-day exercise. He said work was progressing on new sewage treatment plants, providing sewer connections and cleaning drains to prevent wastewater from entering the river. The government’s next steps, according to the statement, will focus on sanitation infrastructure and reducing the flow of untreated waste into the Yamuna.
