CM Rekha Gupta Calls Delhi to #ChaloYamuna Drive on Oct 18
Synopsis
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has called on all Delhiites, especially youth, to join the #ChaloYamuna Mega Cleanliness Drive at Yamuna ghats on October 18, 2026. Registration is open at meriyamuna.in as part of the city's Clean Yamuna Mission.
Key Takeaways
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta has called for a #ChaloYamuna Mega Cleanliness Drive at Yamuna ghats on Sunday, October 18, 2026 .
Residents can register at meriyamuna.in or via QR code; the drive is free and open to all age groups.
The Chief Minister specifically urged Delhi's youth to lead participation by bringing family and friends to their nearest ghat.
The drive is framed as part of the city's larger Clean Yamuna Mission , aimed at making river restoration a 'people's movement.' The Yamuna's 22-kilometre Delhi stretch is among the most polluted urban river segments in India, carrying decades of governance and environmental challenges.
The Yamuna has waited long enough. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday, October 10 issued a public call to action, urging every Delhiite to descend on their nearest Yamuna ghat on Sunday, October 18 for the #ChaloYamuna Mega Cleanliness Drive — a mass mobilisation effort under the city's broader Clean Yamuna Mission.
What the Drive Asks of Delhiites
The ask is direct: show up, bring family and friends, and register in advance either by scanning a QR code or visiting meriyamuna.in. CM Gupta's post singled out Delhi's youth as the constituency she most wants to energise, framing the cleanliness drive not as a government programme but as a 'people's movement.' The appeal carries a civic-duty weight — 'Maa Yamuna' (Mother Yamuna), as she is referred to, is both a religious symbol and a lived environmental reality for millions in the capital.
The River at the Centre of Delhi's Longest-Running Crisis
The Yamuna's pollution crisis is one of the most stubborn environmental failures in Indian urban governance. Decades of untreated sewage discharge, industrial effluents, and encroachments have reduced stretches of the river flowing through Delhi to near-dead waterways, particularly through the 22-kilometre Delhi segment that bears the heaviest load despite being only a fraction of the river's total length. Successive administrations have pledged revival; the river has outlasted every deadline.
The #ChaloYamuna drive positions the current BJP-led Delhi government's approach as one rooted in community ownership rather than solely infrastructure spending. By routing registrations through a dedicated portal and anchoring the event on a specific Sunday morning — a time when working families are available — the administration is making a deliberate organisational bet: that visible public participation can build political and social momentum for longer-term clean-up work.
How to Join the October 18 Drive
Residents can register at meriyamuna.in or scan the QR code shared in the Chief Minister's post. Participants are asked to reach their nearest Yamuna ghat on Sunday morning, October 18. The drive is open to all age groups, with a specific appeal to young Delhiites to lead by example.
Whether one morning's collective effort bends the arc of a decades-old crisis is a question for engineers and policymakers — but a river that once defined a civilisation deserves at least this much: a city that shows up.
Point of View
A space the previous AAP administration had also tried to own. By branding the effort a 'people's movement' and anchoring it with a dedicated registration portal, the Gupta administration is betting that community ownership will generate both goodwill and accountability pressure. The Yamuna remains electorally and emotionally potent in Delhi; whoever is seen as genuinely moving the needle on its revival holds a powerful symbol. One cleanliness drive cannot fix a decades-long crisis, but it can set the terms of how the government wants the mission to be judged going forward.
NationPress
10 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the #ChaloYamuna Mega Cleanliness Drive?
The #ChaloYamuna Mega Cleanliness Drive is a mass public event organised by the Delhi government under the Clean Yamuna Mission, scheduled for Sunday, October 18, 2026. Participants are invited to reach their nearest Yamuna ghat in the morning to take part in a collective cleanliness effort led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.
How do I register for the ChaloYamuna drive on October 18?
You can register for the #ChaloYamuna drive by visiting the official website meriyamuna.in or by scanning the QR code shared in CM Rekha Gupta's post on X. Registration is free and open to all Delhiites.
Which ghats are included in the ChaloYamuna cleanliness drive?
CM Rekha Gupta has asked participants to reach their 'nearest Yamuna ghat' on the morning of October 18, suggesting the drive covers multiple ghats along Delhi's Yamuna stretch. Specific ghat lists were not detailed in the announcement, so checking meriyamuna.in after registering is advisable.
What is the Clean Yamuna Mission in Delhi?
The Clean Yamuna Mission is the Delhi government's broader initiative to restore the ecological health and purity of the Yamuna river. The #ChaloYamuna Mega Cleanliness Drive is positioned as a citizen-participation pillar of this mission, aiming to build a sustained people's movement around the river's revival.
Why is Yamuna cleaning important for Delhi?
The Yamuna flowing through Delhi — a stretch of roughly 22 kilometres — bears severe pollution from untreated sewage and industrial discharge, making it one of the most polluted urban river segments in India. Restoring it carries deep religious, ecological, and public health significance for the capital's more than 20 million residents.
