30-05-2025
British Sikh hopes to spark Nanded's clean-up revolution from Hazur Sahib
For decades, litter strewn across the roads of Nanded had ended up in the city's drains, causing waste pollution in the sacred Godavari river and leading to water-borne illnesses such as diarrhoea.
But now, finally, a solution is in sight: British Sikh Gurch Randhawa, professor of diversity in public health at the University of Bedfordshire, is on a mission to help the Nanded-Waghala city municipal corporation (NWCMC) clean up the river, with funding from the UK Economic and Social Research Council's Brown Gold project.
The project team recalled he had hosted King Charles at Guru Nanak Gurudwara in Luton in 2022, which made history as it was the first time a British head of state sat on the floor.
That combined with his public health expertise, made him the perfect person to manage the complex dynamics in Nanded, a city which hosts one of the holiest place for Sikhs, Hazur Sahib, the final resting place of Guru Gobind Singh. "The Nanded govt has always recognised they have a huge water pollution problem in that river.
But it's about where do you start? In a way, the best place to start is, to start where you have the biggest pull.
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Hazur Sahib attracts 50,000 pilgrims a day. If you can get that gurudwara to want to do something about tackling waste management, the rest of Nanded is likely to follow," he told TOI.
When he first went to Nanded in Dec, everyone knew who he was because of a photo of him sat with the King on the floor that went viral among Sikhs. "That really helped," he said.
What struck Randhawa was how spotless the gurudwara was, yet rubbish was strewn all around the rest of Nanded, clogging up drains and polluting the river.
"They have bins everywhere in the gurudwara and yet as soon as you step outside, there are barely any bins and piles of waste and that's how it ends up in the sewers and drains and in the river," he said.
At 2.30am every day, thousands of pilgrims walk 1km bare-footed from Hazur Sahib to a site next to the Nagina Ghat Gurdwara where the priest collects water in a gagar (pot). After ardas (prayers), they walk back and use the holy water to wash the sacred parts of the gurdwara.
"The gurdwara has created a structure next to the river with a filter pump and so water they get is clean. Yet right behind the structure, the riverbank is full of rubbish," Randhawa said.
He returned to Nanded in March with samples of British recycling bins and met the superintendent of the gurudwara, Gurbachan Singh, who agreed to install recycling bins around the 12 gurdwaras in Nanded. "The idea is that if the gurdwara visitors start using these bins, then mosques, temples and churches will follow," he said.
He also met the commissioner of NWCMC, Maheshkumar Doiphode, who agreed to pilot these bins every 100 metres along the 'Gagar Seva' procession route and, crucially, ensure they get emptied.
Brown Gold project will secure funding for the bins and Randhawa plans to return before the end of the year to install them.
The NWCMC is also going to invest in new pipework along the riverbank with filters to prevent rubbish entering the river.
The focus of World Environment Day on 5 June is on ending plastic pollution, which is integral to this project, Randhawa said. "It's such a privilege to contribute to this initiative to clean up the Godavari river to ensure the health of locals improves and the Gagar water ceremony is sustainable for years to come," he added.
