Photos: Kanwar yatra leaves behind 30,000 MT garbage in Haridwar

For comparison, this is the amount of waste Haridwar would have generated in five months.

Environmentalists expressed concern about the impact of such large mounds of waste coupled with 'shoddy' processing facilities on the city.

People brought sound systems worth lakhs to blare here.

The wildlife, especially birds, must have gone through immense stress," said a social activist.

The administration also deployed 1,100 cleanliness workers to pick up the garbage and take it to the transportation site.

The year's kanwar yatra did indeed see a huge spike in footfall as it was held after a gap of two years.

Experts said there was an urgent need to set a carrying capacity for each tourism and pilgrimage site in Uttarakhand.