New Delhi, Dec 29 (IANS): As part of the ongoing awareness campaign for the River Yamuna, world champion powerlifter-turned-shooter Gaurav Sharma Mahant organised a cleanliness drive at the Yamuna ghats in the National Capital on Sunday.

Talking to reporters, Gaurav said, "The Yamuna river is very important for us, just like the Ganga. We all Delhiites should come forward and help in this cause. When we were cleaning the ghats, we found several idols thrown by people and also beer bottles."

"This was really disheartening. We say Yamuna is like a mother to us and then we treat her like this. It is high time that people take the initiative of cleaning Yamuna," he added.

Acharya Tushar Katyan, Acharya Nitin Sharma, Acharya Ankit Goswami, Acharya Mukesh Shukla, Tarun Verma, Rajiv Gupta, Ajay Kashyap, Chetan Gupta, Abhinandan Yadav, Sunil also participated in the cleanliness drive.

Under the banner of the Pingaksh Foundation, Gaurav participated in the activity organised on the ghats.

Last year, Gaurav distributed food items and water bottles to flood-affected people in Delhi. Several areas of the city were underwater as the water level of the Yamuna rose following heavy rainfall.

When Covid induced a lockdown in the country, the national-level shooter Gaurav, who is also a Mahant at a temple in Chandni Chowk, distributed food among the homeless in the city.