At the time of Diwali, people across India and around the world prepare for the holiday and the dawning of the new year by making everything fresh and new – cleaning their homes, donning new clothes, and giving thanks for all that has been provided. With the belief that Ganga provides for so many selflessly, and with the desire to make not only our own homes fresh and clean but the entire world, Ganga Action with Parmarth Niketan Ashram organised a two-day clean-up in Rishikesh. In the past on all major holidays and events, Parmarth has organised many clean-ups of the ghats and banks along Ganga, but this year with a team of hundreds of volunteers, Ganga Action cleaned not only the ghats and banks but also all of the streets in the area of Swargashram, Rishikesh. Years’ worth of heaped garbage was swept up in the matter of a few hours by the spirited team, not only preventing all this waste from leaching into the soil or washed into Ganga, but also showing local people how wonderful it would be to have a pollution-free environment.
Click to view photos from this clean-up, and all of GAP’s clean-ups >>