Jalasen Ghat crying for salvation

VARANASI: With broken steps and seepage distinctly clear from a distant place, it would be a surprise if people still perform the ritual of placing the dead body into water at Jalasen Ghat, a neighbouring ghat of Manikarnika Ghat which is one of the prominent cremation ghats in the city.
The ritual is considered an essential part of last rite ceremony, but the pathetic condition of the ghat has hardly left any scope for performing the ritual on the banks of Ganga in the city.
When TOI visited the ghat, the broken steps, ruptured embankments and scattered wastes with leftovers of last rite function that were dumped along the embankments were enough to give it a filthy and unhygienic look.
The debris containing broken pieces of cemented structures including that of steps along with the remains of wooden boats hardly left any space to perform the ritual. If it was not enough, remains of ashes, broken earthen bowls, plastic bags containing rotten flowers and garlands were found dumped along the embankments of the ghat. If it were not mandatory to perform the part of last rite function at the ghat, most people would avoid performing the ritual at the place.
It is not surprising that a number of people insist that the ceremony be performed at Manikarnika Ghat itself after witnessing the pathetic condition of the Jalasen Ghat. The place has become a dumping ground for relieving the articles used for last rite function and it remains one of the most ill-maintained ghat in the vicinity, said Mangaru Majhi, one of the local boatmen who carry dead bodies on boats to perform the ritual on the ghat.
It is believed that the funeral pyre at Manikarnika Ghat never extinguishes, but the neighbouring Jalasen Ghat hardly witnesses any activity. While crevices have appeared along the algae-laden steps, the stepped embankments are dangerously broken. The uprooted stone slabs from the floors of platforms give rugged look while deplastered walls have taken away the sheen of the ghat. Similarly, discharge of waste water from the nearby drains is making the embankments dirty, as heaps of garbage are dumped along the place.
The ghat has witnessed some cleanliness work in the past with the help of local support, but the spate of rising and retreating Ganga has done harm to the embankments.
Significance of Jalasen Ghat
Earlier known as Jalasayi Ghat, the name of the ghat indicates 'putting dead body into water'. It is a part of ritual before putting the corpse on the funeral pyre. In the mid 19th century, the nearby building and the ghat were built. The ghat is considered as an extension of the famous Manikarnika Ghat, one of the prominent cremation ghats in the city. While holy dip in Ganga is believed to provide the departed soul the salvation (moksha), the ritual is one of the essential parts of last rite ceremony, as the dead body is brought from the Manikarnika Ghat to this ghat.