‘Cleanliness is way of life’: Delhi CM Rekha Gupta leads Yamuna drive

New Delhi, Oct 18 (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday participated in a cleanliness drive along the Yamuna under the ‘Ek Sankalp, Swachh Yamuna’ campaign, saying that cleanliness must become a way of life and calling for collective efforts to prevent the river from becoming increasingly polluted. 

The campaign was organised at 70 locations across the national capital, with thousands of residents, students, Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), and social organisations joining the initiative.

“This is a joyful occasion for all of us. When the 'Chalo Yamuna' call was made under the Yamuna Cleanliness Campaign, thousands of young people from Delhi, along with thousands of RWAs and other social service organisations, participated in it. Today, across the entire stretch of the Yamuna in Delhi, residents on both banks are actively engaged in the Yamuna cleanliness campaign,” CM Gupta said.

Emphasising the need for public participation in maintaining cleanliness, the Chief Minister said people must adopt responsible practices in their everyday lives.

“I believe that cleanliness is a way of life, and we all need to incorporate it into our daily lives. Today, as we were cleaning the Yamuna, I noticed that mostly clothes of deities, broken idols, and worship materials were lying around. Tonnes of these materials and remains are left behind by people for immersion in the river, causing the Yamuna to become increasingly polluted,” she added.

Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma, along with Patparganj MLA Ravinder Singh Negi and BJP workers, also participated in the cleanliness drive and inspected the river ghats by boat.

Verma said the campaign had drawn participation from people across Delhi and neighbouring areas, including Noida, with children, college students, NGOs and RWAs joining voluntarily.

“All of Delhi has arrived. Right now, I can see people have even come from Noida. There are the kids, college students. Everyone is from NGOs, all Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) are here. I think lakhs of Delhi residents have come here today and are voluntarily participating in the cleanup drive,” he said.

The minister said the initiative was intended to complement the government's infrastructure-related efforts to clean the river.

“Because everyone has taken a pledge that alongside the government, while the government is constructing STP plants and setting up house sewer connections, we will also ensure that we do not dirty the ghats,” Verma added.

South Delhi MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri also visited the DND-Chilla Yamuna Ghat in East Delhi and participated in the cleanliness drive.

Earlier, Delhi BJP president Harsh Malhotra also participated in a cleanliness drive at a Yamuna ghat and criticised the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over its handling of the river's pollution.

Malhotra said the Rekha Gupta-led government had prepared a plan to clean the 33-km stretch of the Yamuna flowing through Delhi. He alleged that the previous government, led by Arvind Kejriwal, had politicised the issue and failed to prepare a concrete action plan.

The ‘Ek Sankalp, Swachh Yamuna’ campaign aims to encourage public participation in keeping the river and its ghats clean, alongside government measures such as sewage treatment plants and household sewer connections.

--IANS

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