Archive · 4 Oct 2026
Delhi Volunteers Remove Waste and Dream of Environmental School
Vinay Das and a group of volunteers clean places in Delhi every Sunday.
They have been doing this since September 2018.
More than 1,600 young people and children have taken part, and about 350 volunteers are active now.
The group has cleaned parks, streets, riverbanks and canal-side areas.
In two recent cleanups at the Munak Canal, they removed 50 metric tonnes of waste.
They also plant trees and look after the young trees for three months.
A child once told Das that their lane was clean and their mother was happy.
Das hopes to build a school for 1,500 children and teach them to protect the environment.
Vinay Das and his team have organized weekly cleanups every Sunday since September 1, 2018.
More than 1,600 children and young people have joined, with around 350 active volunteers.
The group has cleaned parks, lanes, Yamuna banks and ghats along a three-kilometre stretch of the Munak Canal.
Two recent Munak Canal drives removed 50 metric tonnes of waste, a figure also recorded in MCD records.
The team plants and tends saplings for three months, and Das hopes to build a school for 1,500 children focused on environmental protection.
- Who
- Vinay Das, his team and community volunteers, including children and young people.
- What
- They conduct regular cleanups, plant trees and care for saplings; Das also hopes to build an environmental school for 1,500 children.
- When
- The weekly Sunday cleanups have continued since September 1, 2018; two recent canal drives removed 50 metric tonnes of waste.
- Where
- Parks, lanes, Yamuna banks and ghats along a three-kilometre stretch of the Munak Canal in Delhi.
- Why
- To clean their surroundings and teach children to protect the environment.
Community cleanup work
Unaddressed challenges
Volunteer-led waste removal
Community cleanup work
The article describes a sustained community effort that has cleaned public spaces and removed 50 metric tonnes of waste in two recent canal drives.
Unaddressed challenges
The article offers no opposing viewpoint or criticism of the cleanups; it does not describe how the wider waste problem will be addressed.
Environmental education
Community cleanup work
Das hopes to build a school for 1,500 children to teach them to protect the environment.
Unaddressed challenges
The article does not report a counterposition or provide details on whether or how the proposed school will be built.
- Cleanup start
- September 1, 2018
- Cleanup schedule
- Every Sunday
- Young people and children who have joined
- More than 1,600
- Active volunteers
- Around 350
- Waste removed in two recent Munak Canal drives
- 50 metric tonnes; the article says the figure is also recorded in MCD records.
- Munak Canal stretch
- Three kilometres
- Proposed school capacity
- 1,500 children