- The river Ganga, worshipped by billion Indians and Hindus as Ganga Maa, ‘mother’ since time immemorial, revered and believed by millions as the forgiving, purifying and sin-washing for the bathers should be treated with dignity. Ganga and its flowing water touching historic towns of the northern States have to be saved from destruction, pollution and garbage dumps.
- How
shameful, criminal and horrendous it is to make a believer drink its black
dirty water while believing in heart as if it is the pious heavenly water.
- Ganga
originates from Deoprayag, a 65 kms distance from Rishikesh, and 90 kms
from Haridwar. All the hill towns on the periphery and its Panchayat
officials do not hesitate dumping its garbage of human, animal wastes,
house sewerage, plastics, and all the rotten scraps into the serene
waters.
- Uttarakhand
Government and its tourist Dept has started and permitted about 100
companies to set up camping grounds on the very bank of the Ganga river,
between Village Kaudiyala near Deoprayag town and Rishikesh, for the
tourists to enjoy a big money maker water rafting, and frolic in the
nature with drink parties, dinners, music nights, and fires dances at the
river banks.
- Guests
sleep in tents, use a boxed holes placed inside sidelined tiny-tents as
toilets. These temporary and moving toilets have holes in the sand, dug
about 4 fts in the ground, which are used by guests for relieving
themselves, using toilet papers. Sanitary napkins and condoms also find
their way there with soap, detergents added at the time of bath and
washing. Every reliever puts a small shovel of sand on his waste to stop
bad odor and hide the awful sight. When the hole is filled up, camp
worker, shift the ‘hut’ to another site few feet away. This goes on and on
forever. And for years.
- According
to a rough guess, every year, if 100,000 visitors of these camps, and
every visitor makes about a kg of waste during his stay, the Ganga banks
are sitting at about 10,000 quintals of human waste a year. For the past
6/7 years, the figures will be mind blowing.
- This
stored and planted mounds of shit goes into water body and is also washed
to other towns like Haridwar, Varanasi, Kanpur. It is being religiously
drunk by millions old, young, men, women every year.
- Chemists
and well known water scientists have proved that any dump of waste in the
land filled area seeps into water body and pollutes the water and makes
hazardous and very unhealthy for humans. Thousands Ganga lovers suffer
from serious diarrhea, stomach ailments, and jaundice.
- Foreigner
visitors, anti-pollution advocates worldwide have been shocked by our
State tourism practice of allowing people to live at the banks of the
great river. Nowhere in the world any country allows tourists to camp at
the banks of the river.
- Court
should order Uttarakhand State to cancel all the permits of the Camping
ground owners and remove them from the banks. This has to be stopped
immediately. The Government may help them shift their business inside
forests or on the highlands nearby to keep the business and tourism going.
Our all India NGO –Live For
Others Foundation, Reg no. S/59909/2007 is deeply
involved in river Ganga cleaning project and turning Deoprayag town in
Uttarakhand a garbage and plastic free town with the full support of the local
Panchayat and the town seniors. (www.liveforothersfoundation.org Ph 852 794 4603)
