The massive gathering to celebrate India’s T20 World Cup victory at Marine Drive last evening did not just choke the Mumbai roads, but also left piles of litter that took the entire night to be cleared.
A sea of supporters converged at the promenade to get a glimpse of the Team India players, who rode an open-top bus for a short victory parade on their way to Wankhede.
The aftermath, however, was as dire.
The Mumbai civic body had to deploy about 100 of its workers to clear the shoes, slippers, and other litter left by the crowd. It took them over eight hours to clean the area.
The workers collected food wrappers, water bottles, shoes, bags, slippers and other items in five small jeeps. The shoes and slippers will be sent for recycling.
A ‘Clean Marine Drive’ was also organized for morning walkers.
Team India returned from the Caribbean on Thursday morning and reached Mumbai in the afternoon after a brief halt in Delhi – five days after their thrilling win against South Africa.
To celebrate, a victory parade was organized from Marine Drive till Nariman point – ahead of a felicitation ceremony at the Wankhede stadium – which saw a big turnout of supporters.
Faced with the uphill task of managing such a big crowd, cops shut all roads to the iconic sea face, choking the other alternate routes.
At least two supporters fainted in the crowd, apparently due to suffocation. A video from the venue showed a cop trying to carry one of them away from the swarm of people.
