NDMC Vice Chairman Leads Swift Cleanup at Jantar Mantar

When the protest at Jantar Mantar finally quieted down, the streets around Tolstoy Road, Sansad Marg and Janpath were littered with bags, banners and more than 60 metric tonnes of waste. Inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Mission, NDMC Vice Chairman Kuljeet Singh Chahal rolled up his sleeves and joined the cleanup crew.

He didn’t just show up for a photo‑op; the V‑C stayed at the empty site throughout Saturday night, keeping an eye on every broom sweep, every truck loading, and every pothole being patched. “Immediately after the protest ended, all NDMC teams swung into action,” he told reporters, adding that the work was carried out on a “war footing”.

From the crack of dawn on Sunday until the afternoon, more than 500 officers, engineers and sanitation workers laboured across Jantar Mantar, Connaught Place and the adjoining lanes. The Health and Sanitation, Civil Engineering and Horticulture departments all pitched in, turning what could have been a chaotic mess into a relatively tidy public space.

In practical terms, the operation involved four high‑pressure jetting machines scrubbing roads and footpaths, two heavy trucks and an eight‑ton auto‑tipper hauling away the debris, and even a JCB that helped lift the heavier junk. Roughly 50 workers tackled the road cleaning, while 75 sanitation staff worked through the night and another 35 joined in the morning. Together they removed slogans from walls, repainted surfaces, repaired kerbstones and gave the green belts a fresh trim.

By Sunday afternoon, Chahal made a second round of inspections. He walked the length of the central verges, glanced at the freshly painted walls and asked the Civil Engineering team if any corner had been missed. Satisfied, he praised the crews, saying NDMC employees are the Council’s greatest strength.

“Our officers and employees worked continuously to make sure the public faced no inconvenience and normalcy returned as quickly as possible,” he remarked, nodding to the night‑shift workers who had been on the ground while most of the city slept.

The cleanup was completed well before any symbolic “clean‑up” ceremonies were scheduled, Chahal emphasized, underscoring that the operation was driven by genuine necessity, not political theatre.

In the end, Jantar Mantar looked almost as it did before the protest—roads cleared, green belts spruced up, and the iconic structure standing proudly against the Delhi sky. The swift, coordinated effort serves as a reminder that when local authorities, workers and citizens align, even a massive mess can be cleared in a single weekend.