Haridwar, July 23 -- The annual Kanwar Yatra, which recorded a footfall of over 40 million devotees, will end on Wednesday on the occasion of Shravan Shivratri. However, the unprecedented rush left behind a mountain of garbage, with the Haridwar district administration having deployed over 1,000 additional sanitation workers to clean the city and surrounding areas of thousands of tonnes of waste. Officials from the Haridwar Municipal Corporation estimate that the total waste generated during the fortnight-long mela could be between 30,000 and 35,000 metric tonnes. While cleaning operations are underway, authorities admit that it may take several days or even weeks to fully restore cleanliness across the city and pilgrimage routes. According to data from the Kanwar mela control room, more than 40 million Kanwariyas have visited Haridwar since July 11 to collect holy Ganga water to offer to Lord Shiva. The peak influx occurred in the final days leading up to Shravan Shivratri, when tens of thousands of devotees were still entering the city even as others began departing. By Tuesday evening, the majority had departed, but the trail of waste left behind poses a major logistical and environmental crisis. Haridwar municipal commissioner Nandan Kumar said that over 1,000 additional sanitation workers have been deployed from various sectors for the clean-up effort during the Kanwar Mela....