NDMC races to restore Jantar Mantar protest site, looks at clearing 60 MT of waste
Protesters dispersed on Saturday following resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as education minister over NEET paper leak controversy
The New Delhi Municipal Corporation on Sunday continued an extensive clean-up operation in and around the Jantar Mantar, a day after the Cockroach Janta Party called off its protest, with officials saying nearly 60 metric tonnes of waste is expected to be cleared from the site and its adjoining roads.
Sanitation workers, heavy vehicles and mechanised cleaning equipment were deployed through the night to restore the area after protesters dispersed on Saturday, following the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as the education minister over the NEET paper leak controversy.
Officials of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) said that civic body staff were on the ground overseeing the operation.
Sanitation teams have been deployed at Tolstoy Marg, Jantar Mantar, Sansad Marg, Jai Singh Marg and the Connaught Place area.
According to the NDMC, 75 sanitation workers were deployed overnight, while another 35 have been on duty since Sunday morning.
Around 40 metric tonnes of waste was removed till Saturday night, and another 12 metric tonnes had been cleared since the morning, the officials said.
The civic body has deployed eight auto-tippers, two heavy trucks, one excavator and three pressure jetting machines for the operation. Jetting machines were seen cleaning roads around the Jantar Mantar, while mechanical road sweepers and sanitation teams worked across the area.
The clean-up also includes restoration work, with civic teams repainting walls to erase protest slogans, repairing damaged curbstones and footpaths, and washing public spaces.
The intensified drive follows a sharp increase in waste generated during the protest.
On Friday, the NDMC had removed around 27 metric tonnes of mixed waste from the protest site, up from around 15 metric tonnes a day earlier, along with construction debris, stones and other solid waste.
The officials said the large volume of waste after the protest ended necessitated a more extensive round-the-clock clean-up operation.
