U’khand Urban Sanitation Conclave focuses on waste, sewage challenges in Himalayan cities

PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE / Dehradun

The Uttarakhand Urban Sanitation Conclave 2026 was organised in Dehradun on Friday where the government officials, urban planners, researchers and development agencies discussed sanitation and waste management challenges being faced by cities nestled in the Himalayas.

The conclave was organised by the Urban Development Directorate Uttarakhand in collaboration with the Administrative Training Institute Nainital and supported by the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA). The discussions focused on issues such as faecal sludge management, used water treatment, solid waste disposal and sanitation infrastructure in the hill cities, which often face additional pressure due to tourism, fragile terrain and limited land availability.

 In the event, the Urban Development minister Ram Singh Kaida launched several sanitation-related knowledge products. These included the “Lighthouse Cities for Waste Management from Uttarakhand” report, a dashboard related to used water and faecal sludge management, a documentary on sanitation initiatives and studies linked to sanitation systems and sanitation workers. The Lighthouse Cities report, prepared by the National Institute of Urban Affairs and others, highlighted sanitation models from Dehradun, Mussoorie, Rudrapur and Lalkuan. The director of Urban Development Directorate, Vinod Giri Goswami said that the conclave reflected Uttarakhand’s focus on developing resilient and inclusive sanitation systems through better planning and community participation.

Mahreen Matto from NIUA said that the report documents practical sanitation models and evidence-based solutions that could help urban local bodies improve waste management and sanitation systems across the Himalayan regions.