A rag picker collecting water bottles strewn at the protest site at Jantar Mantar on July 24, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
Despite volunteers of the Cockroach Janta Party collecting garbage around the protest site, heaps of waste remained on Jantar Mantar Road till Friday (July 24, 2026), before being cleared by the New Delhi Municipal Council.
However, lanes near the stage leading towards Sansad Marg and Patel Chowk remained clogged despite efforts within the protest site. Heavy barricading, police deployment, and parked vehicles restricted the entry of garbage collection trucks.
An NDMC official present at the site on Friday toldThe Hinduthat waste collection had been stalled due to lack of access.
“We were trying to secure permission for entry over the past few days. On Friday, two trucks were allowed and were expected to make multiple rounds,” the official said.
Given the accumulation, segregation was not feasible. “We will deploy 30-40 sanitation workers in shifts for round-the-clock cleaning,” the official added.
Cleaning operations on nearby Tolstoy Marg and Sansad Marg continued.
Volunteers said that although waste was being deposited in NDMC bins, the volume remained high. Passersby covered their faces due to the stench.
Sangeetha, 26, a waste picker living nearby, said she had been gathering scattered waste.
“People have been throwing garbage recklessly,” she said.
Published – July 25, 2026 11:15 am IST
