Navi Mumbai: Environmentalists are upset after the Coldplay concert at Dr. D.Y. Patil Stadium generated over 100 tonnes of garbage, which was left for the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) to clean up. Despite the city’s Zero Waste campaign, the large-scale waste accumulation has raised questions about the audience's responsibility in waste disposal.

Over the three days of the concert, NMMC collected 82 tonnes of wet and dry waste from outside the stadium, while event organizers managed to clean up 20 tonnes from within the venue. The civic body then transported the entire waste to designated disposal sites.

The stadium, with a capacity of 75,000, was filled to the brim on January 18, 19, and 21, as Coldplay fans from across Navi Mumbai, Mumbai, and the rest of the country attended the concert. Municipal commissioner Dr. Kailash Shinde said that the Zero Waste campaign was successful from NMMC's perspective, and Navi Mumbai continues to lead in cleanliness efforts as part of the Swachh Bharat mission.Navi Mumbai, part of Thane district, remains a top performer in the cleanliness rankings.

To manage the post-concert clean-up, NMMC deployed 100 personnel and enlisted 150 Parisar Sakhi volunteers. They worked from 10:30 PM to 3:00 AM each night, clearing large amounts of trash left behind by concertgoers. However, environmentalists believe more should have been done by the audience to dispose of their waste responsibly.

“The audience was elite, having spent thousands of rupees on tickets, and yet the 100-tonne waste accumulation reflects poorly on their commitment to the Swachh Bharat initiative,” said B. N. Kumar, director of the NatConnect Foundation.

With ticket prices reaching up to Rs 3 lakh and hotel room rates near the stadium shooting up to around Rs 1 lakh per night, Kumar pointed out that the five-hour clean-up process each night underscored the scale of the trash left behind, particularly outside the event venue.

Activist Jyoti Nadkarni also raised concerns, stressing that concertgoers should be held accountable for the waste. Madhu Shankar, another activist, suggested that the event organizers could have collaborated with NMMC to set up large bins for more efficient waste disposal.

While the NMMC’s efforts in managing the clean-up were praised, environmentalists are calling for greater public awareness and responsibility in future events to ensure cleaner and more sustainable large-scale gatherings.