The river Ganges has been held in high religious esteem by the Hindus from time immemorial. It is Ganga Matha (Ganga Mother) for millions of the Hindus. It rises from the majestic Himalayas, Gangotri to be exact, at a height of 4299 m (13779 feet). The river Ganges flows through a thickly populated plain land for 2700 km qualifying as the biggest river in India.
Morning prayers on the banks of the river Ganges
In its long journey towards the Bay of Bengal it passes through countless villages and more than 120 cities. Its interaction with the terrain and its people not only spoils its pristine purity but also makes it highly polluted. The river noted for its ability to remove any sin or pollution of the persons having a dip in it, has been unable to face the onslaught of industrial and other wastages dumped in it all through its way.
The demand to save the river Ganges from becoming polluted and a health hazard is not new. A number of environmentalists and scientists have been raising this issue all along but without much success. A scientific management of this great water resource would help the people in a number of ways; and also retain its glory as a sacred river.
Apart from the growth of population on its banks, the river Ganges has had to bear the additional burden due to industrial growth also. It has been estimated that every day 1.7 billion liters of effluent enter the river! And, most of it is ‘untreated’! Add to this, the physical remains of millions of the Hindus getting into the ‘sacred’ water. The World Health Organization has described the river Ganges as ‘an environmental hazard’! According to them, each year the pollution contributes to the deaths of up to 1.5 million children under age five from dysentery and diarrhea. It raises the threat of diseases such as cholera, typhoid, guinea worm, and trachoma. The Sankat Mochan Foundation environmental group has led calls for cleaning the Ganges for nearly 25 years. Veer Bhadra Mishra, the president of the foundation, former professor of hydraulics, and a Hindu priest has said, "The pollution in Ganga is contributed by two sources; the point sources of pollution, that is, the sewer outfalls, open drains discharging domestic sewerage and industrial pollution along the whole length of Ganga - the 2,500 kilometer length - and they contribute 95 percent of the pollution. So this has to be stopped."
At long last, something seems to be happening. The Government of India is giving a closer look of the project of cleaning the river Ganges, after the river has been declared a National Heritage in November 2008. It has been a National Heritage all the times but a ‘declaration’ saying so matters a lot!
The project of cleaning the river Ganges calls for cooperation from the masses. In India alone, in five states, 450 million people live on the banks of the river. From the very early morning, all its ghats are crowded by faithful Hindus who have their sacred dip in its waters. The ancient city of Banaras attracts millions of the Hindus; they come there not merely to have a dip in the river but also to perform various religious deeds on its banks to propitiate their ancestors. The aged Hindus consider it a boon to die within the city of Banaras; in their opinion, if they do, they would not have to be reborn in this world. The ever-present huge crowds and the non-stop pressure on the ghats would make the project of cleaning the river Ganges doubly difficult.
The Government of India has established the Ganga River Basin Authority to safeguard the river. The government hopes that the new plan, replacing all the old piecemeal ones, will pave the way for an integrated approach. Measures to improve the quantity and quality of the water flow in the river would be taken up soon.
Veer Bhadra Mishra of Sankat Mochan Foundation has pointed out that how the earlier efforts included construction of water treatment plans and how they failed due to chronic power shortage and other problems. Secondly, he points out that the anti-pollution measures should be implemented with legal force. Unless the practice of dumping all sorts of wastages in the river is stopped with legal force, positive results could not be attained.
The real enemies of the river Ganges are some of its blind worshippers. There are a few who argue that the river Ganges, being sacred, could not be polluted by anybody or by anything. Even thinking of Ganga as polluted river is anathema to them.
Morning prayers on the banks of the river Ganges
In its long journey towards the Bay of Bengal it passes through countless villages and more than 120 cities. Its interaction with the terrain and its people not only spoils its pristine purity but also makes it highly polluted. The river noted for its ability to remove any sin or pollution of the persons having a dip in it, has been unable to face the onslaught of industrial and other wastages dumped in it all through its way.
The demand to save the river Ganges from becoming polluted and a health hazard is not new. A number of environmentalists and scientists have been raising this issue all along but without much success. A scientific management of this great water resource would help the people in a number of ways; and also retain its glory as a sacred river.
Apart from the growth of population on its banks, the river Ganges has had to bear the additional burden due to industrial growth also. It has been estimated that every day 1.7 billion liters of effluent enter the river! And, most of it is ‘untreated’! Add to this, the physical remains of millions of the Hindus getting into the ‘sacred’ water. The World Health Organization has described the river Ganges as ‘an environmental hazard’! According to them, each year the pollution contributes to the deaths of up to 1.5 million children under age five from dysentery and diarrhea. It raises the threat of diseases such as cholera, typhoid, guinea worm, and trachoma. The Sankat Mochan Foundation environmental group has led calls for cleaning the Ganges for nearly 25 years. Veer Bhadra Mishra, the president of the foundation, former professor of hydraulics, and a Hindu priest has said, "The pollution in Ganga is contributed by two sources; the point sources of pollution, that is, the sewer outfalls, open drains discharging domestic sewerage and industrial pollution along the whole length of Ganga - the 2,500 kilometer length - and they contribute 95 percent of the pollution. So this has to be stopped."
At long last, something seems to be happening. The Government of India is giving a closer look of the project of cleaning the river Ganges, after the river has been declared a National Heritage in November 2008. It has been a National Heritage all the times but a ‘declaration’ saying so matters a lot!
The project of cleaning the river Ganges calls for cooperation from the masses. In India alone, in five states, 450 million people live on the banks of the river. From the very early morning, all its ghats are crowded by faithful Hindus who have their sacred dip in its waters. The ancient city of Banaras attracts millions of the Hindus; they come there not merely to have a dip in the river but also to perform various religious deeds on its banks to propitiate their ancestors. The aged Hindus consider it a boon to die within the city of Banaras; in their opinion, if they do, they would not have to be reborn in this world. The ever-present huge crowds and the non-stop pressure on the ghats would make the project of cleaning the river Ganges doubly difficult.
The Government of India has established the Ganga River Basin Authority to safeguard the river. The government hopes that the new plan, replacing all the old piecemeal ones, will pave the way for an integrated approach. Measures to improve the quantity and quality of the water flow in the river would be taken up soon.
Veer Bhadra Mishra of Sankat Mochan Foundation has pointed out that how the earlier efforts included construction of water treatment plans and how they failed due to chronic power shortage and other problems. Secondly, he points out that the anti-pollution measures should be implemented with legal force. Unless the practice of dumping all sorts of wastages in the river is stopped with legal force, positive results could not be attained.
The real enemies of the river Ganges are some of its blind worshippers. There are a few who argue that the river Ganges, being sacred, could not be polluted by anybody or by anything. Even thinking of Ganga as polluted river is anathema to them.
Everyday in the evening, thousands of the Hindus assemble, sing hymns, praise the greatness of the river Ganges, perform haarthi and worship her. This religious practice shows their gratitude to the great river that has been supporting their lives for thousands of years. But it does not occur to them that throwing plastic items, dirty clothes and innumerable wastes is anything but veneration.
Let us hope that the recently established ‘the Ganga River Basin Authority’ would take some effective steps to clean the river Ganga and also maintain it as a clean river befitting her name and fame.
Source
http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=210AB18:F7F0B63DAB0DE8EE817ECD0A9D9D42642E7CA1C1B166B639&http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0723/p01s01-wosc.html
Let us hope that the recently established ‘the Ganga River Basin Authority’ would take some effective steps to clean the river Ganga and also maintain it as a clean river befitting her name and fame.
Source
http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=210AB18:F7F0B63DAB0DE8EE817ECD0A9D9D42642E7CA1C1B166B639&http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0723/p01s01-wosc.html
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