Noida: The pilgrims have moved on, but the “cleanup has not kept pace”, said residents and commuters.Hours after kanwar camps along Delhi-Meerut Expressway were dismantled, the cycle track has been left strewn with the remains of the temporary arrangements: wrappers, food containers, sheets, ropes and other waste. “People come here for a religious purpose, but public spaces should not be left like this afterwards,” IT professional Priya Singh said.“Kanwariyas alone cannot be blamed for this,” Neel Sharma (34), a Mayur Vihar resident who regularly uses the stretch, told TOI, adding, “The organisers and civic agencies also have a responsibility. If camps are being allowed to come up here, there should be a proper cleaning mechanism from the time they are installed until the area is restored.”The camps come up every year during shravan to provide food, water, rest and shelter to kanwariyas, many of whom walk long distances carrying holy water from the Ganga. But for cyclists, pedestrians and daily commuters, what was meant to be a dedicated passage has become an obstacle course.Torn tarpaulin flaps in the wind, plastic food packets are strewn along the edge of the pavement and discarded ropes lie tangled with construction debris. In between the garbage, a blue signboard still stands, declaring the stretch a “Compulsory Cycle Track/Cycle Only” zone.For Mohammad Ahmad, who crosses the area every day, the sight is frustrating. “This is a public road and a cycle track meant for commuters. You can see garbage lying around even after the camps have gone. It is unhygienic and nobody seems to be taking responsibility; they could have put up a dustbin instead,” he said.The litter has also become a problem for office-goers using the stretch to reach nearby public transport points. Rohit Mishra, who travels daily from Indirapuram to central Delhi, said he now has to be careful while walking along the pavement. “I have to keep looking down because there is broken glass and debris on the track. This used to be a clean walking stretch,” he said.Priya Singh, who takes an auto from the area every morning, said the cleanup should have been factored into the arrangements for the camps. “If permission is given for these camps every year, there should also be a clear plan for collecting and removing the waste once they are dismantled. People come here for a religious purpose, but public spaces should not be left like this afterwards,” she said.Some residents said that the responsibility for cleaning up cannot begin only after complaints are raised. For commuters, the demand is straightforward: Once the camps are gone, the waste should be gone too.
