Bhagirath's Ganga now flows dirty

ALLAHABAD: It is a time of the year when `annual' history repeats itself. Even as the date for the annual Magh Mela is fast approaching, precious little has been done to check the level of pollution in the river. Consequently, seers would once again make a hueand cry, threaten to boycott bathing in protest against the pollution,authorities swing into action and additional water is released from the Naroradam so that the accumulated silt and other impurities get washed away, albeittemporarily. Sadly though, after culmination of the mela, things get back tosquare one. For all the high-pitched concern expressed by detractorsof Ganga Expressway and their fear of its extinction, the fact remains that ifthe present pollution level continues, the river could earn the depiction ofbeing the mythological and invisible Ganga, akin to Saraswati.Takinga dip in the river, one is more likely to be swimming in a bacterial soup andinarguable toxic content, specified by scientists as unfit for human use in anyform. Various phases of the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) have proved to be a total failure with no concrete result and crores of rupees being siphoned off in the name of Ganga purification. It is not that the ministersor the authorities concerned are unaware about the seriousness of the pollutionbut their approach is still lackadaisical.The Ganga Action Plan(GAP), an ambitious brainchild of the Central government, has proved to be theproverbial white elephant and has been marred by controversy since itsintroduction. So far, thousands of crores of rupees have been wasted in cleaningup the Ganga's amrit (elixir).GAP was given a go-ahead in 1986, witha stretchable 1990 deadline but it proved yet another government scheme, whichnever finish in time with desired results. According to the plan, the firstphase, comprising treatment plant, was meant to purify the city's more than 10million litres of waste water a day before it was discharged into the river.More than a decade past the deadline, the treatment plant is yet to see thelight of the day. The two proposed sites for the plant are in Rajapur andSalori.The main source of the pollution are the nallahs (drains)that empty into the river. The Karelabagh nallah, Kathaira ghat and the Chacharnallah, three drains in Gaughat's vicinity, are the main source of pollution.To justify the expenditure, the Moori gate was made the showpiece of theGAP. This till date is GAP's only achievement. All that has been done is thatcontaminated water is being diverted from this outlet to Varanasi instead of theSangam. Lakhs of rupees invested in accomplishing this entirelyunnecessary task were actually meant for the construction of a treatment plantto be installed at Jhunsi. Another faux pas was the flagging off of GAP's secondphase before the first phase was even underway.There are thousandsof Kalpawasis, saints and locals who congregate during the annual Magh Mela, whoare familiar with the pollution-specific colour changes of the river water overthe years, but even the pollution doesn't prevent them from immersing themselvesfor the ritual purification even if it threatens their very survival.* The recent initiative of district authorities for ensuringcleanliness around the Sangam area especially banks of river Ganga is startingto bear fruits as hundreds of volunteers turn up to offer `shramdaan' forcleaning the river banks.* With the ban on polythene in the entiremela area already in place, the mela adhikari has been directed to conductfrequent checking in the area and initiate action against shopkeepers as well asvisitors who were found to be possessing polythene.* With a view tolaunch a decisive battle for ensuring a clean Ganga, seers, intellectuals andeminent persons of the society held deliberations last year for chalking out aneffective strategy in this regard. Christened as Ganga Mahasammelan, the meetingwas held at the camp of Swami Vasudevanand Saraswatiji Maharaj.Nationalpresident of Ganga pradushan mukti abhiyan samiti, Swami HarichaitanyaBrahmchariji Maharaj said that the seers have already given an ultimatum to themela authorities for bringing about a perceptible change in the level ofpollution. * Social worker Devanand Shukla has shown others the way.The one-man army keeps on rendering yeoman's service for keeping the Gangaclean. He carries heavy stones and boulders on his bicycle and places themalongside the bank to prevent erosion. It was essentially owing to his effortsthat pilgrims have been able to take a holy dip in the river at Amitabh Bachchanculvert in Kailashpuri. Now, Shukla needs more stones for preventing the nullahfrom mingling with river water. He has nevertheless begun work by creating amaze like structure to filter the dirty water.* McPherson Lake orerstwhile Niwan Tal is the pride of Allahabad in Cantonment area. However, overa period of time, the lake is full of weeds and polluted water due to flow ofuntreated drain water and filth into it. The lake also joins the Ganga.Brigadier RK Bhutani, commander Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and AllahabadSub-Area took the initiative to get the lake cleaned with the help of theCantonment Board and Army and police personnel. Bhavna Singh, CEO, AllahabadCantonment, said that relentless effort is being made till McPherson Lakebecomes sparkling clean and discharge of toxic waste into the Ganga ischecked.* Demanding that river Ganga be declared a national river sothat more steps could be initiated for ensuring its cleanliness from Gangotri toGanga Sagar, activists of Ganga sewa abhiyan have been staging frequentdemonstrations. Under the patronage of Jyotishpeethadheeshwar evamShardapeethadheeshwar Jagatguru Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati jiMaharaj, the movement aims at drawing attention of the government towards theurgent need of purification of the river which was losing its significance onaccount of high concentration of impurity. A member of the abhiyan, AwadheshTripathi demanded that construction of crematoriums on banks be prohibited asalso discharge of animal carcass and humanbodies.* With the month of Magh scheduled to begin from January 12,the religious significance of this holy city of Prayag (ancient name ofAllahabad) increases manifold. This land which finds mention even in thePuranas, will host the annual Magh Mela that will continue for more than fortydays.* It is believed that taking a holy dip in Sangam, theconfluence of river Ganga, Yamuna and the invisible Saraswati, during the monthof Magh strengthens life making it disease free.* According toPramil Chaturvedi, an astrologer, in the month of Magh, Sun enters Capricorn(Makar Rashi). Interestingly, Saturn, who is the lord of Capricorn, is the sonof Sun according to mythology. While the Sun is associated with good health,force and energy, Saturn on the contrary is a malefic planet that representssufferings and disease. Due to the contentious relation between the father andthe son, it leads to cosmic conflict in the month ofMagh.* Geographically, Allahabad or Prayag is the ideal place.The Tropic of Cancer passes over the city. It means that Sun is at the shortestdistance from this city and therefore in a straight line from here. Thus bathingin the holy waters of Sangam and basking in the Sun strengthenslife.* Regional officer of UP Pollution Control Board Mohammad Sikandarsaid that monitoring of the pollution shall begin soon and recommendations wouldbe made to the authorities concerned for checking pollution.Presently, atotal of 2038 mld of polluted water is discharged in the river from 23 citieswhich are located on the banks of rivers Ganga and Yamuna. Out of this, around17 per cent of pollution is in the form of toxic waste from industries, whereas78 per cent polluted water is in the form of human waste.