The Mission Clean Ganga Haridwar-Patna expedition is on its last lap with the team from Tata Steel having collected 53 tonnes of wastes so far.

The 40-member team — 20 men and as many women — led by legendary climber and Padma Shri Bachendri Pal is currently on their way to Patna after successfully cleaning the holy river and its banks at Haridwar, Bijnor, Farrukhabad, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi and Buxar by sailing on rubber rafts.

“We had a hearty meal on our way to Patna. The progress is very satisfactory. We have already collected 54tonnes of waste and aim to collect a total of 60 tonnes of waste,” said TSAF senior manager Hemant Gupta.

Everester Gupta added they would rest overnight in Patna and interact with students of Vigyan Bhavan in Patna on Monday morning. “The interaction will be followed by again cleaning the Ganga and its banks. Our expedition ends on October 30,” he added.

Shedding light on the amount of wastes collected so far, Gupta said, “Till now we have collected 7,000kg in Haridwar, 4,000kg in Bijnor, 2,500kg in Farrukabad, 10,500kg in Kanpur, 16,000kg in Prayagraj, 9,000kg in Varanasi and 4,000kg in Buxar.

The expedition team also conducted an awareness drive in the presence of over 13,000 students from 15 schools in Varanasi.

The team members, along with 1,000 volunteers, also collected waste from Assi Ghat, Dashashwamedh Ghat and Raj Ghat in Varanasi.

A joint initiative of TSAF and National Mission for Clean Ganga and sponsored by Tata Steel, the expedition started from Haridwar on October 5 with a cleanliness drive. The team hit the Ganga on October 8.