With over 66 crore pilgrims visiting the Mahakumbh mela over a period of 45 days for a holy dip in the Sangam, maintaining hygiene, tackling waste and implementing sustainable measures were on top of the government’s agenda in addition to ensuring an enriching and spiritual experience for the devotees. This monumental task has been successfully managed by a mix of traditional and hi-tech measures with support from central institutions and the private sector.

Between the numbers and logistics, the resources and planning to cater to crores of devotees from every part of India and the globe reaching the confluence of three rivers, the aspects of hygiene, waste management and environment-friendly measures need a bit of attention. Five years after a pandemic sanitized our world, there was an army of workers sourced from different organisations united by a common purpose to keeping the place clean.

Sustainability – Lessons Learnt

Mahakumbh 2025 was an environment high for corporate India as well, pitching in with material and manpower, teaming up with various private entities in activities such as plastic recycling. For event management businesses, pointers are many on understanding the magnitude of challenges and achievements, processes and planning, the assimilation of which will take some time. Viewing the Mahakumbh as an unprecedented gathering of people, noting down the boxes ticked from the facilities management angle can serve as a useful reference point for mass events in other sectors (such as culture and music, entertainment and business, festivals and sport) where large footfalls happen in a shared space.

River water cleaning

Cleaning the Ganga on a daily basis, waste management of the river water and along the banks due to the movement of pilgrims can be valuable inputs for festivals and events staged along waterfronts and beaches elsewhere. River cleaning barges, floating trash skimmers sourced from private companies by the local governing body collecting religious offerings like garlands, flowers, coconuts, incense wrappers, paper plates and plastic from the river were in use. The next step was to deposit this waste at disposal sites near Naini, for onward transportation by road to the Bhaswar processing plant for segregation. For tourist hotspots from the backwaters in Kerala’s Alleppey to the Dal Lake in Kashmir, Prayagraj has opened up waterfront possibilities about waste management and logistics amidst crowd management. Innovative ways to use recycled plastic, especially PET bottles and unique methods to reduce single-use plastic waste are major lessons for implementation in different ways at mass events in other sectors and locations.

Corporate initiatives

Coca Cola’s ‘Maidan Saanf’ campaign in tie-ups with Go Rewise (safety jackets from recycled PET bottles), Econscious (changing rooms from recycled plastic waste), Rekart Energies (collection/segregation of waste for recycling) demonstrates an effective way to merge sustainability and branding. The recycled plastic jackets were used by boatmen, volunteers and housekeeping workers. The changing rooms set up by assembling plastic boards made from recycled material packed in layers and painted by noted artists was an example of privacy, utility and waste management; workable in any outdoor or indoor setting as partitions in a large hall or as a backdrop for a stage show.

 Consumer goods manufacturer, Reckitt, provided the popular Dettol soap at food-serving areas to drive home the hygiene message before/after meals. The Global Interfaith Wash Alliance (GIWA) and the Uttar Pradesh government were partners with Reckitt in this initiative, named Dettol Banega Swasth India. The Mahakumbh organisers introduced a huge jar-shaped container in public places called the ‘Jal Kalash’, for users to drop their empty plastic bottles which were sent for crushing into plastic flakes.

UltraTech Cement Limited, in partnership with Prayagraj Nagar Nigam launched a waste management initiative called ‘Mahakumbh ka Mahasankalp’ addressing the challenge of plastic waste at the spiritual gathering. The initiative collected plastic waste and processed it for use as alternative fuel in cement manufacturing at Dalla Cement Works, an integrated manufacturing unit located in Sonbhadra (UP). Till date more than 400 metric tons of collected plastic waste has been processed as alternative fuel at Dalla. UltraTech also supports the municipal corporations of Prayagraj and Lucknow for co-processing segregated municipal plastic waste at its cement works. This approach decreases the reliance on use of conventional fossil fuels for cement manufacturing while also reducing the burden of landfill and of plastic leaching into soil and water bodies.

Waste management (ISRO & BARC)

Nuclear technology has paid a crucial role in ensuring hygiene in the 45-day, mammoth scale Maha Kumbh mela, which saw more than a crore pilgrims per day visit the district and take a dip in the holy Sangam. Managing the scale of waste generation, with nearly 16 million litres of faecal sludge and 240 million litres of greywater every day, and massive solid waste from millions of pilgrims, was a logistical challenge. The UP state government enlisted the support of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), two of India’s premier scientific institutions, to tackle this formidable task.

hgSBR and FSTPs

One of the advanced technologies used is the Hybrid Granular Sequencing Batch Reactor (hgSBR), developed through an ISRO-BARC collaboration. This a compact biological treatment method for effective removal of contaminants from domestic and industrial wastewaters. It makes use of the natural microbes present in the wastewater for removing contaminants. In simple terms, it could be seen as a high-tech washing machine which treats sewage instead of clothes. This technology is being used at three prefabricated Faecal Sludge Treatment Plants (FSTPs), efficiently processing human waste and ensuring that the environment remains clean and safe.

The FSTPs were established in Sectors 9, 13 and 15 of the Mela area. Each plant has a treatment capacity of 500 kilolitres per day. There are around 11 permanent sewage treatment plants and three temporary plants that are able to manage wastewater from temporary toilets and drains, alleviating the burden on the city’s existing sewage infrastructure. In addition, the authorities have implemented comprehensive sanitation measures to maintain an open defecation-free environment. Over 1.5 lakh litres of sewage is treated by these plants daily at the mela. The Uttar Pradesh Government has also made 1.5 lakh toilets at the Mela site.

Geo-tube Technology

Another technique is Geo-tube Technology which can be seen as a giant tea bag which holds and treats large volumes of liquid waste. This technology helps in the containment and treatment of waste, ensuring that only clean water is released back in the environment. This technology has played a pivotal role in cleaning waste from the 23 untapped drains of Prayagraj city, ensuring good quality water in the Ganga for pilgrims’ bathing. Every day, 100 to 130 million litres of water are treated using geo-tube technology before being released into the Ganga The waste extracted during the treatment process is being collected in geo-tubes, made of pure textile fibres and threads, which will be emptied and processed into compost once the four-month treatment cycle is complete. Temporary treatment plants have been installed at nine sites, from where the waste is channelled to the geo-tube-based treatment plant set up at Rajapur. This treatment plant uses ozonisation instead of chlorination, as high levels of chlorine in treated water are harmful to aquatic life. Ozonisation eliminates all faecal bacteria, and the treated water is then safely released into the river.

Bioremediation

Bioremediation is another approach being used at the Maha Kumbh, a natural and environment-friendly method applied to greywater collected in approximately 75 large ponds, ensuring the water is treated effectively and safely. This approach could be visualised as a series of large ponds, each teeming with beneficial microorganisms that break down pollutants and cleanse the water.

The technologies being deployed aim to mitigate critical environmental concerns such as prevention of river water contamination, reduction in potential health risks from waste and sewage, and minimisation of the ecological footprint of the gathering. The operational strategy for waste management includes reducing manual handling to a minimum, emphasising source-level waste segregation using advanced technological interventions, and implementing strategic disposal mechanisms, as observed by experts.

As one pilgrim observed: The success of Mahakumbh 2025 could be attributed to the harmonious confluence of faith, governance, technology, discipline, and divine grace. For the first time in history, the Mahakumbh was designed to be a “Green Kumbh”, setting an example for mass gatherings worldwide. Extensive waste management and water conservation efforts ensured that the Ganga remained pristine. Use of biodegradable materials, zero plastic zones, and eco-conscious campaigns turned Mahakumbh into a spiritual yet sustainable event. More than 15,000 sanitation workers, feted by the government after the event, ensured that the gathering of millions left no adverse impact on the environment.

Compiled by Rajashri Ramakrishnan & Nandakumar Marar