Webinar on Managing River Health During Large-Scale Gatherings

Government of India

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Government of India

Webinar on Managing River Health During Large-Scale Gatherings

March 20, 2026

About the Event

On 20 March 2026, the River Cities Alliance (RCA) organised a webinar titled Managing River Health During Large-Scale Gatherings: Experience from Maha Kumbh & Magh Mela 2025 as part of its ongoing knowledge series. The session focused on strategies to safeguard river health during mass gatherings, where temporary but intense population pressures place significant stress on urban infrastructure and river systems.

The expert speaker, Ms. Akanksha Rana (IAS), Municipal Commissioner, Jhansi, and Former OSD, Prayagraj Mela Authority, shared practical insights from the planning and management of the Maha Kumbh/Magh Mela 2025 in Prayagraj—one of the largest human gatherings in recorded history. She highlighted how integrated planning, including GIS-based spatial layouts and digital monitoring systems, played a key role in managing the event while protecting the river ecosystem.

The discussion emphasised the importance of robust sanitation systems, solid waste management, and strict controls on wastewater discharge, which together enabled the achievement of zero untreated effluent entering the river during the event. The session also underscored the value of convergence across agencies, real-time monitoring mechanisms, and treating large-scale gatherings as opportunities to demonstrate high standards of river-sensitive urban management.

Overall, the webinar illustrated how coordinated planning and strong institutional systems can ensure that even the most complex, high-pressure events can be managed in a way that prioritises and safeguards river health.