Danish diplomat's video spurs quick garbage clean-up near embassy in Delhi

'Welcome to great, green, and trashy New Delhi,' Danish Ambassador to India said in his viral viral video

Freddy Svane, ambassador at the Royal Danish Embassy in New Delhi, took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday to share a video highlighting a garbage dump outside the embassy building, calling for immediate action. Within hours of Svane's video, the city's civic body initiated a clean-up of the area.

In the video, which has now been removed, the Danish diplomat can be seen standing on a road next to the Denmark embassy, with garbage strewn across the area. He expressed his dismay at the sight, remarking, "Welcome to great, green, and trashy New Delhi," as he pointed out the trash-filled service lane near the embassy premises.

Highlighting the issue, Svane said, "No more nice words, just action. My friends, dhanyawaad [Thank you in Hindi]".

The video, concluding with a panoramic view of the garbage dump, was accompanied by a caption expressing disappointment at the situation in New Delhi.

Svane tagged the official X account of the Royal Danish Embassy in India, the Delhi Chief Minister's Office, and the Delhi Lieutenant Governor in his post, urging attention to the matter.

Responding swiftly to Svane's plea, the New Delhi Municipal Committee (NDMC) dispatched officials to clean up the site, as evidenced by visuals from the spot featuring the Danish diplomat alongside  NDMC officials.

Expressing gratitude for the prompt response, Ambassador Freddy Svane applauded the NDMC's swift action.

He said, "This is the service lane here, and a few hours ago I put out a video to showcase that it could be a mess. But it takes human action, and the heroes from NDMC listened to the cry about why we should not leave such a beautiful lane full of trash. They took action. Dhanyawad!..This is about pointing at an issue not complaining. I am so proud that NDMC took action within a few minutes...I have lived here for 11 years. We love India."

(With inputs from agencies)