Filth greets kayakers in trip down ‘holy’ Ganga

KOLKATA: Kayakers from the city, who recently journeyed 1,500 km down the Ganga from Allahabad to Kolkata, have documented the high level of pollution in the river that is revered as holy by millions in the country. The photographs, captured by the team, bring to sharp focus the failure of the much hyped Ganga Action Plan that was launched over a decade ago to the cleanse the river.
“The state of the river is extremely sad. In Benaras, where there are over 280 ghats that are used for worship, the water is full of plastic bags containing flowers, incense sticks and other items that are used for worship. General refuse is also disposed in the water. Places like Chunar and Ghazipur are the worst off,” said expedition leader Tapas Choudhury.
The team also found that the ban on disposal of corpses in the river being blatantly flouted in Buxar and Ghazipur. “The burning ghats, dotting the bank, throw half-burnt bodies into the water. We found as many as 70 such corpses floating in the water on a single day. This has serious implications on the ecosystem of the river as well as on us. Fishes feed on these corpses which are then caught by the fishermen and eventually land on our dinner plates,” said Choudhury.
It also observed that the river had shifted course in several places. Closer home, course alteration and erosion were visible at Palasi and Nakasipara in Murshidabad district. Here, the river has altered its course by more than a kilometre in a span of 10 years. Erosion has led to high sedimentation, considerably reducing draft in the river at several places in West Bengal. According to Ganga Action Plan, the draft in the river should not be less than 3 metre. However in Hooghly’s Balagarh, the draft had reduced to just 1.5 metre due to lack of dredging and sluggish flow of the river.
The kayakers from Sea Explorers’ Institute used 17-feet-long sea kayaks during the expedition that began on November 11 from the Allahabad Boat club. The team then paddled to Varanasi, Patna, Munger, Sahebgunj, Farakka, Nabadwip and finally reached Kolkata on December 12. This expedition was undertaken to highlight the ill effects of pollution in the river and to promote water sports among youths.
The team almost lost two kayaks due to the treacherous eddies along the course. “It’s a very tricky affair to negotiate the eddies. However, near Bhagalpur, the lead kayak and second kayak got sucked into one of these due to strong currents. The kayakers used backstroke and anti-clockwise paddling effectively and emerged from the eddy with a story to tell,” said Aseem Mondal, one of the members.
The team found an unlikely friend in Gangetic dolphins. In Patna, they encountered an island with channels of water on both side. All through, the dolphins stayed on the right side of the channel which had the right depth of water and saved the kayaks from getting grounded.