Holy River Ganga -- Pious But Polluted

[Guest guest]

By: Fatima Chowdhury Posted on: 10/25/2005

 

 

The Holy River Ganga -- Pious But Polluted

 

By - Fatima Chowdhury

 

"The land where the Ganges does not flow is likened in a hymn to the

sky without the sun, a home without a lamp, a Brahmin without the

Vedas." So writes Jean Tavernie in Travel in India.

 

>From the geopolitical to the socio-economic, the Ganges, popularly

known as 'Ganga' occupies an integral and sacrosanct place in India's

history. From `Gaumukh', the place where Ganges originates in the

Southern Himalayas, to the `Triveni Sangam' close to Varanasi

(Banaras), there are innumerable sites all along the river that are

legendary in Hindu history and mythology. Endearingly, the river is

often referred to as `Ganga-ma' [meaning, `mother Ganga'].

 

Diana Eck, in her book Banaras: City of Light has this to say: "There

are few things on which Hindu India, diverse as it is, might agree.

But of the Ganges, India speaks with one voice. The Ganges carries an

immense cultural and religious meaning for Hindus of every region and

every sectarian persuasion." A sacred river revered by the Hindus and

glorified in mythologies, stories, songs and poems, the Ganges is the

very heart and soul of India. A river this dear to a people would be

cherished and protected with zeal wouldn't you think? But alas,

perhaps it is the very significance of the river in Hindu customs and

belief that has and continues to push it to its nadir.

 

Today, the Ganges is threatened by the very divine prominence it has

been accorded by her people. Every year thousands of them congregate

on the banks of the river to attend various festivals such as the

Sangam, Sagar Mela and Kumbh Mela. This mass of humanity that the

river sustains has an environmentally adverse effect on it. Over the

years the glaciers that the river emerges from have been decreasing

by hundreds of feet and the decline in average snowfall in the region

has prevented their replenishment.

 

According to a number of glaciologists, part of the problem may lie

in the burning of fossil fuels by pilgrims who assemble in tents near

the glaciers. Sadly, the reverence given to the river seems to be

limited to rituals wherein one takes away from it or `uses' it,

without any thought or consideration for what it does to Ganga-ma.

For example, practices such as immersing ashes of the dead in the

Ganges may have a divine impetus behind them, but have deadly effects

on the river.

 

Similar callousness is evident all along the Ganga basin, where it is

estimated that almost 350 million people reside. As it flows through

several towns and cities, untreated human, animal and industrial

wastes are discharged into the river. In Kanpur, for example,

chromium and other harmful chemicals from the nearby leather

industries seep into the river unrestricted.

 

According to the Sankat moc-han Foundation (SMF) that launched the

Campaign for a Clean Ganga, fecal coliform pollution in several

bathing areas is more than 3,000 times above the level acceptable for

human beings. Decomposed corpses that have not been cremated properly

are left to float in the river. This not only pollutes the sacred

waters but also threatens marine and human life.

 

The Indian authorities have realized that unless serious measures are

taken, the water supply of the Ganges will dwindle with time. In 1985

The Ganga Action Plan (GAP) was established to clean the Ganges.

Several waste treatment facilities were constructed with the help of

British and Dutch companies to stop the sewage at a point and

redirect the water for treatment. Many electrical crematoria were

built for this purpose. But there is a vast difference between the

desired goals and the results that materialized.

 

Almost 17 years later, very little has been accomplished. Some

environmentalists believe as much as $600 million has been spent so

far to implement the GAP. However, money has been wasted on

inappropriate technology. For instance, a continuous supply of power

is required to operate the sewage treatment plants. Unfortunately,

such power supply is unavailable. As a result the sewage treatment

plants have been rendered useless.

 

The consensus now is that GAP has failed to yield the desired

results. M. C. Mehta, a Supreme Court lawyer and activist believes

that "there is no political will to clean up the environment."

According to him, politicians are in cahoots with industrialists who

fund them. Hence there is not much regulation of the polluting

industries.

 

According to Dr. Veer Bhadra Mishra, President of SMF, "The struggle

to clean our river is ultimately a battle about information rather

than technology. It's a battle to create a climate of public

awareness to break through the firewall of official indifference in

our country." The reality is that we need to manage our waters more

efficiently and promote greater environmental consciousness and

responsibility amongst the people.

 

In the Ganges lies our future water resource. A failure to protect

the Ganges could prove detrimental to our own lives, as water

scarcity becomes the crisis of the future. Saving the Ganges is not

an option but a necessity. If we consider the Ganges to be holy, then

why are we failing so miserably to respect it?

 

 

 

http://www.sawf.org