CM Rekha Gupta Leads Cleanliness Drive at Kamala Nehru Ridge
Synopsis
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta joined thousands of volunteers at Kamala Nehru Ridge on October 1, 2026, for a mass cleanliness drive under the #SevaSankalpAbhiyan and #EkDinEkGhantaEkSaath campaign, marking PM Modi's birthday with hands-on shramdaan and repair inspections.
Key Takeaways
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta personally performed shramdaan (voluntary labour) at Kamala Nehru Ridge on October 1, 2026 .
The event was part of #SevaSankalpAbhiyan , held in honour of PM Narendra Modi's birthday , under the 'Ek Din, Ek Ghanta, Ek Saath' banner.
MLA Surya Prakash Khatri , Delhi University teachers, and large numbers of students participated alongside the Chief Minister.
Cleaning and repair work inspections were carried out at the ecologically significant Northern Ridge area.
Thousands of swachhagrahi volunteers participated city-wide, reinforcing the Swachh Bharat Mission ethos at a local level.
Brooms in hand at one of Delhi's oldest green lungs, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta joined thousands of volunteers at Kamala Nehru Ridge on Thursday, October 1, 2026, turning a birthday tribute into a day of visible civic action. The drive was part of the #SevaSankalpAbhiyan, a nationwide initiative running in honour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday, under the 'Ek Din, Ek Ghanta, Ek Saath' ('One Day, One Hour, Together') banner — and Delhi showed up in force.
Thousands Sweep the Ridge Under 'Swachhata Hi Seva'
The Chief Minister personally carried out shramdaan — voluntary physical labour — at Kamala Nehru Ridge, overseeing both cleaning and repair work at the historic forested ridge in north-west Delhi. Posting about the campaign, Gupta wrote: 'Jab Delhi ek saath aage badhti hai, toh badlaav bhi bada hota hai' — 'When Delhi moves forward together, the change is also big.' Thousands of swachhagrahi volunteers joined her, lending the drive the kind of scale that turns a ceremonial gesture into a measurable clean-up.
MLA Surya Prakash Khatri was present alongside the Chief Minister. Crucially, Delhi University faculty members and a large contingent of students also participated, making this a cross-section of the city — elected representatives, educators, and young citizens working side by side on the ridge.
What the Ridge Represents — and Why It Was Chosen
Kamala Nehru Ridge is part of Delhi's Northern Ridge, a protected forest area that serves as the capital's ecological buffer. Bringing a mass cleanliness event to this specific site underlines a dual message: civic pride and environmental stewardship, in a city where urban green cover is perpetually under pressure. The repair inspections the Chief Minister conducted alongside the clean-up signal an intent that goes beyond symbolism — maintenance, not just a photo-op sweep.
The Seva Sankalp Abhiyan in Delhi
The #SevaSankalpAbhiyan is a BJP-aligned national service campaign traditionally organised around September 17, Prime Minister Modi's birthday, and extended through the following weeks. The 'Swachhata Hi Seva' ('Cleanliness Is Service') component directly echoes the Swachh Bharat Mission, the flagship national sanitation drive launched in 2014. For the Delhi BJP government, anchoring a high-visibility cleanliness drive at Kamala Nehru Ridge with university participation gives the campaign local resonance — and a ready constituency of young Delhiites who commute past the ridge every day.
CM Gupta signed off with a call that doubles as a political promise: 'Apni Dilli ko swachh, sundar aur swasth banaayein' — 'Let us make our Delhi clean, beautiful, and healthy.' In a capital that has fought persistent battles with air quality, waste management, and encroachments on green land, those three adjectives carry real weight.
Delhi cleaned a ridge today. Whether the momentum outlasts the campaign calendar is the question the city's residents will answer — one neighbourhood at a time.
Point of View
Leading the sweep personally alongside university students and an MLA signals an attempt to reframe Delhi BJP's governance identity around environment and cleanliness, two themes the party has historically conceded to rivals. Bringing Delhi University faculty into the frame is particularly deliberate: it plants the campaign in an intellectual, middle-class constituency that swings elections in north and central Delhi. The real test, as always with episodic cleanliness drives, is whether the ridge looks any different six months from now.
NationPress
1 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan?
The Seva Sankalp Abhiyan is a BJP-led national service campaign organised around Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday on September 17, extended into the following weeks, covering health camps, cleanliness drives, and community service events across India.
Where is Kamala Nehru Ridge in Delhi?
Kamala Nehru Ridge is part of Delhi's Northern Ridge, a protected forested area located near the Delhi University campus in north-west Delhi, serving as an important ecological green buffer for the capital.
What is 'Ek Din Ek Ghanta Ek Saath'?
'Ek Din, Ek Ghanta, Ek Saath' means 'One Day, One Hour, Together' — it is the tagline of the Swachhata Hi Seva component of the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan, calling citizens to dedicate one hour of voluntary cleanliness work simultaneously.
Who participated in the Kamala Nehru Ridge clean-up with CM Rekha Gupta?
MLA Surya Prakash Khatri, Delhi University teachers and a large number of students, and thousands of swachhagrahi volunteers joined Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta at the clean-up and repair inspection on October 1, 2026.
What is Swachhata Hi Seva?
Swachhata Hi Seva, meaning 'Cleanliness Is Service', is an annual national campaign aligned with the Swachh Bharat Mission that mobilises citizens, government officials, and institutions for large-scale cleanliness and sanitation drives.
