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Even after hundreds of crores sunk, Ganga is polluted

Garbage dumped into the river Ganga in the holy town of Hrishikesh

      Haridwar: The residents of Haridwar lament that pollution of the Ganga continues despite hundreds of crores of rupees having spent in various projects to clean the river. The resentment is growing. Revered as mother Goddess, the Hindus believe that a dip in the holy river cleanses them of their sins.

     "Whatever we have here is because of the river Ganges. Tourists come here because of the river. We have to ensure that it remains clean. It pains when we find it dirty," said a resident. In recent years, a massive influx of human and industrial pollution has turned its the waters into liquid hell. Adding to it is the increasing use of non-biodegradable polythene wastes by the residents as well as the tourists. Various voluntary organisations and foreign aid workers have launched several cleanliness drives. In 1986, the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi launched "Ganga Action Plan" to cleanse the holy river and over 350 crore rupees have been spent in these 18 years but residents say much of the action remains on paper.

The Ganga at Haridwar

Millions, mostly one-stop pilgrims, use the river and experts say the only way to sustain conservation is people's involvement. "But the river water is very dirty here. The sewage drains are released in the river. The garbages are being damped on the riverside. Devotees, ignorant of these, are using this water in worship etc. People, even the tourists too, throw polythene on the rivers that have made it dirty. The Government has done nothing. Even though crores of rupees have been spent on it," said Shankar Gain, a resident.

      Navprabhat, Environment and Urban Development Minister of the northern Uttaranchal state, said they plan to initiate a new cleanliness project soon. "This time we will start the project afresh. We need money for that and we are in talks with the Asian Development Bank. The only hindrance is that we will get money only by 2006," said Navprabhat. The Ganga runs its course of over 2,500 km (1,562 miles) from Gangotri in the Himalayas to Ganga Sagar in the Bay of Bengal . It passes through 29 cities with population of over 100,000 each. In 1996, the Supreme Court had banned the discharge of effluents from the various tanneries located on its banks in the northern Kanpur city. Still with one billion tonnes of waste being dumped into it everyday, the Ganga remains the most polluted river in the world.
-March 26, 2005

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