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Seers in Varanasi offer prayers to River Ganges, vow to cleanse it Varanasi:
Seers in Varanasi offer prayers to holy river Ganges and vow to cleanse it
of all the pollutants. Residents, environmentalists and religious groups, who
have formed a 'Ganga Sena' (Ganges Army-for protection) to save the River Ganga
from pollution, took part in the prayers that marked the completion of the first
phase of action against pollution. The plan of action has been divided into three
phases. To begin with, the devotees said that they have succeeded in convincing
the authorities about the steps that are required to be taken. "It is a three-phased
plan. The first step is to reach to the authorities and convince them to be a
part of the action. The second stage is to complete the paper work and declare
our fight against Ganges pollution. And the last one is to implement the plan
of action and clean Ganges of the pollution. The first stage has been completed
and therefore we are here to offer prayers," said Swami Avimukteshwaranand, chief
of Ganga Sena. Prayers were offered to 108 Hindu Goddesses as a token of thanks
for helping them succeed in the first phase of their plan of action. Some observe
that problem of the river cannot be solved till the time water is not released
from the Tehri dam. "Some saints are celebrating, but the Ganges issue cannot
be resolved till the time the flow of water does not increase in Kashi (Varanasi)
and the water does not flow in from Tehri Dam," said Baba Nageshwarnath, a seer.
The principal sources of pollution are domestic and industrial wastes. Conservative
estimates put the effluents flowing into Ganges at 1.7 billion litres each day,
out of which 1.4 billion litres is untreated.Nearly 88 per cent of the pollution
originates in the 27 cities that are located along the river''s banks and the
banks of its tributaries. According to a recent official report, only 39 percent
of the primary target of the Ganga Action Plan, which the Central Government had
started in 1985, has been met so far. The Ganga Action Plan (GAP) was initiated
by the late Prime Minster Indira Gandhi, who called for a comprehensive survey
of the situation in 1979. After five years, the Central Pollution Control Board
(CPCB) published two comprehensive reports, which formed the base from which the
action plan to clean up the Ganga, was developed.
- Oct 23, 2008
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