Summary:
The ‘Swachh Kumbh’ agenda, albeit ambitious, is achievable if we citizens are willing to throw our collective weight behind it.An estimated 120 million people visited the last Kumbh Mela in 2012. (The writer is an environment expert, consulting for sanitation in Kumbh Mela 2019. What may not be as obvious is that this infrastructure is almost entirely temporary, and is established in the short duration of three months immediately preceding the mela.In the context of solid waste management, several hundred tonnes of solid waste or garbage are estimated to be generated every day. Let us take the pledge for a Swachh Kumbh , to do our bit to keep the mela clean. The WHO theme ‘Sanitation Matters’, which links sanitation with public health, has culminated in the ‘Clean Water & Sanitation’ goal of Sustainable Development Goals-2030..