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Efforts to save the Ganga with sadhus from Rishikesh and
Haridwar, including yoga guru Baba Ramdev, joining the fight and declaring the formation of the Ganga Raksha
Manch.
"Chak De Ganga"
was the slogan raised by Swami Chidananda of Parmarth Niketan in
Rishikesh, in efforts to save the Ganga.
Gai Ghat Pana to observe Ganga Dussehra along with hundreds of other devotees in the city.
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Kolkata, June 6, 2008: CNN-IBN-Outlook State of the Environment Poll has found that 77 per
cent people have voted cleaning of rivers by government as the top priority.
The findings are especially significant in Kolkata as its main river Hooghly is
congested with solid waste and effluents. It is said that the character of a city is best judged by how well it maintains
its sea or river front.
For environment activist Subhash Dutta it's been a lonely battle fought by the
Green Bench at Kolkata High Court, trying to keep up a brave and a clean
riverfront. "It is being fouled institutionally and individually. Ninety per cent of
industrial and untreated sewer being dumped in it is only making the river
unholy," Dutta laments.
The romantic image of Hooghly is dumped rapidly as it gets fouled by 860 million
litre of untreated sewage daily through sewer outlets flowing into the river.
Ganga Monitoring Committee member of the Environment Department of West Bengal
government Biswajit Mukherjee says, "Twenty-Twenty five years is nothing to curb
pollution. How could I solve all the problems?"
The city believes Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) and its
municipalities take care of most of the sewage disposal. They remain shockingly
unaware that they too have a liberal hand in its abuse.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Since 1985, with the implementation of Ganga Action Plan
(GAP) for pollution abatement activities in the identified polluted
stretches of river Ganga, a total sewage treatment capacity of
1765.34 million litres per day has been created so far for Ganga and
its major tributaries. Despite phenomenal increase in the urban
population along the banks of the river leading to increased
pollution loads, the water quality of river Ganga has shown discernible improvement in terms of organic pollution at major
locations, over the pre-Action Plan water quality. This information
was given by the Minister of State for Environment and Forests Shri
Namo Narain Meena, in a written reply to a question by Dr (Shrimati
) Najma Hepttulla, in the Rajya Sabha today.
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250 religious heads flag off save Ganga campaign in Delhi
NEW DELHI, August 18, 2008: A group of 250 spiritual heads representing most of the religious sects and Hindu organisations across India on Sunday
launched the Save the Ganga campaign in the capital. The campaign, Awiral Ganga, Nirmal Ganga: From Gangotri to Ganga
Sagar, aims to clean up the river right from its source in the Himalayas to where it drains into the Bay of Bengal at Ganga Sagar in West Bengal by reducing pollution and demanding national heritage status for the river.
The agenda of the umbrella organisation Ganga Raksha Manch includes penalising polluters, preventing drainage of industrial and domestic effluents in the river,
opposing the proposed Ganga Express Highway by the Uttar Pradesh government, lobbying for the relocation of industries along the river bank, and opposing the further expansion of the Tehri Dam project in
Uttarakhand. The 250-member Marg Darshak Mandal, or the advisory committee comprising the religious leaders, will advise the Ganga Raksha Manch on how to make the campaign effective. Senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal and yoga guru Baba Ramdev are at the helm of the committee.
As part of the campaign, pressure groups across the country will organise rallies September 18 and march to the offices of the district collectors and district magistrate to submit charters listing the demands of the Ganga Raksha
Manch.
Seers like Ramdev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of the Art of Living Foundation, Asaram Bapu, Murari Bapu and Pranab Pandya, head of the Global Gayatri Parivar, will observe a token fast for a day September 18 to protest the unchecked pollution of the river and press for steps for clean
Ganga. The Ganga Raksha Manch has constituted a Kar Sevak (workers') committee, which will mobilise the youth in 550 districts across 28 states and seven union territories to implement the Ganga action plan on the ground in a phased manner.
To save the Hooghly ghats by lead pollution in WB before puja
KOLKATA, August 5, 2008: The environment department is keen on clamping a blanket ban on the use of lead-laden paints,
on the Pratima of Goddess Durga. On August 12, the department has called a meeting to decide on imposing the ban from this Puja itself. This would entail a massive
awareness campaign among puja organizers and a drive to ensure that the order is followed. It's all for a good cause to save the Hooghly ghats and your para ponds from the deadly effects of lead pollution.
A joint survey by the West Bengal Pollution Control Board and Indian Toxicology Research Institute found that each gram of colour used for painting the goddess has a high quantity of lead, ranging from 6 to 10 micrograms. It should ideally be zero. Even in our body, zero microgram per decilitre is the permissible limit for lead, a committee member said.
Symposium in Delhi on Ganga Raksha Aastha:
"Science can neither connect to the culture nor can it protect the culture. The real conspiracy behind the construction of dams on the Ganga is to ruin the Hindu culture. It is a matter of aastha (faith), which is more important than the materialistic progress,” said Prof.
G.D. Agrawal who observed fast unto death in Uttarkashi for the protection of Ganga. He was speaking at a symposium organised by Deendayal Research Institute
(DRI) in New Delhi on July 4, 2008.
New Delhi, June 29,
2008 (IANS): Yoga guru Ramdev, who was in the capital prior to his 45-day tour of the US, UK and
Canada, told the media Sunday that he is at the forefront of a group, the Ganga
Raksha Manch, set up by spiritual heads in Hardwar to press the government to
declare the endangered river a national heritage.
The Ganga Raksha Manch comprises spiritual leaders like Sri Sri Ravishankar of
the Art of Living, Murari Bapu, Asaram Bapu, Ramesh Bhai Ojha and the heads of
the Shankaracharya hermitages across the country. It also has representatives from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh, All-India Akhara Parishad, Gayatri Parivar Shantikunj, Sant
Nirankari Samagam, Arya Samaj, Shri Jain Acharya Muni hermitage and Ramakrishna
Mission.
Ramdev is the convenor of the organisation. Besides, the umbrella has also
brought in researchers, environmentalists and scientists in its fold to deal
with the technicalities of conservation. The campaign will be spread across five
states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Bengal.
DEHRADUN, June 21, 2008: Yielding to pressure from septugenarian environmentalist
G.D. Agarwal, who is on hunger strike against the damming of the
Ganga, the Uttarakhand government said it would not construct two of the six dams on the river proposed between Gangotri and Uttarkashi. |
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Chak De
Ganga
DEHRADUN, June 19, 2008: "Chak De Ganga" was the slogan raised by Swami Chidananda of Parmarth Niketan in
Rishikesh, as he spoke about saving the holy river at a Sant Sammelan in
Haridwar. Efforts to save the Ganga with sadhus from Rishikesh and Haridwar, including yoga guru Baba
Ramdev, joining the fight and declaring the formation of the Ganga Raksha Manch.
Ramdev, while launching his nationwide movement to save the
Ganga, warned: "If the Centre and state government did not pay heed to the
sadhus' call for saving the Ganga, the agitation would take a fierce turn." "Declare the Ganga a national heritage," said
Ramdev.
Former RSS ideologue Govindacharya today announced an agitation in support of halting all
projects on river Ganga from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi.
Patna: June 13, 2008:
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar
Modi, in Patna on Friday, lighted lamps at the Gai Ghat to observe Ganga Dussehra along with hundreds of other devotees in the city.
Kumar also appealed to everyone to join forces to prevent the holy river from polluting and help preserve its sanctity and purity. "The
community should join hands with the government to help Ganga from further pollution as the river was the lifeline of millions of people in Bihar," Kumar said adding the administration was doing everything in its might to develop and beautify the embankment so the coming generations could also benefit from the river.
Dehradun, June 14, 2008: G D Agarwal, a 76-year-old environmentalist, on Friday began a
fast-unto-death protest against the construction of hydel projects on River
Bhagirathi in Uttarakhand. The 76-year-old Gandhian and around 30 of his supporters began their fast at
Manikarnika Ghat in Uttarkashi town. Agarwal is on hunger strike to support
people, who claim they would be uprooted because of the construction of dams
like Pala Maneri (480 MW), Maneri Bhali phase-II (304 MW), Lohari Nagpala (600
MW), Koteshwar (400MW), Bhairon ghati (381 MW) and Jad Ganga (200 MW).
Swami Swroopanand, the Shankaracharya of Dwarika Peeth, backed Agarwal’s protest
saying he was against the caging of Bhagirathi with dams. |
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New Delhi, June 1, 2008: Guru Das Agrawal, a former dean of IIT
Kanpur, has said he will begin a fast unto death this month on the banks of the Bhagirathi to save the tributary of the
Ganga. Agrawal, 76, who once taught environmental engineering at the
IIT, said he will begin fasting from June 13, unless all development work on hydropower projects between Gangotri — the glacier that feeds the Ganges — and Uttarkashi is stopped. “Our mother is being murdered... and you’re asking me why I’ve taken such a decision,” Agrawal said. “It’s for my faith,” he said.
Agrawal and a number of non-government organisations have been seeking a halt of work on the 600MW Loharinag Pala project and the 480MW Pala Maneri project along the
stretch of the Bhagirathi. “We’ll be left with a series of dry river beds, small lakes and tunnels carrying water for electricity,” said
Agrawal. “Our mother Ganga is being destroyed.… They’re doing it for electricity.”
- THE TELEGRAPH
LUCKNOW, May 31, 2008: The Janata Dal (United)president Sharad Yadav today said the unprecedented price rise was a result of the "wrong" development policies being pursued
by the UPA government. He was also critical of the UP government's Ganga Expressway project saying it would have an adverse impact on the river.
River Conservation Satyagraha
year
Ranchi, May 29, 2008: Professor G.D. Agarwal, a noted environment scientist of Uttarakhand, would begin on his fast-unto-death demanding purification of the Ganga — from Gangotri to
Uttarkashi, said Rajendra Singh, the Magsaysay Award winner. “The water community in the country has also decided to observe this year as the River Conservation Satyagraha year, which would formally begin on June
13, 2008” said Singh.
Dehra Dun May 28, 2008: Save
Bhagirathi
The Uttarakhand government is in the face of mounting protests from environmentalists, who have launched the "Save
Bhagirathi" campaign in different parts of the state.
Uttarakhand, which is fast emerging as the new "energy state", has an ambitious plan to generate 25,000-30,000 Mw in the next three to ten years through these hydel projects. Big companies like Reliance Energy, GVK, GMR,
NHPC, THDC and NTPC are into the power business in the hill state.
But all is not well with these dams. From Pithoragarh district in the Kumaon region to Chamoli district in
Garhwal, the new projects have uprooted thousands of people and sounded the death-knell for several towns and villages. Environmentalists claim these projects will "swallow" the river once they start building their tunnels. And it's not the existence of the river alone that's threatened. A large number of people living in the hills
of Uttarakhand fear they will be rendered homeless once the construction begins. During the past three months, they have undertaken marches and held rallies to voice their protests. The construction of the Tehri dam pioneered the concept of big dams and wreaked havoc on the lives of nearly 100,000 people.
Lucknow,
May 22, 2008: Sadhus, saints and religious leaders in Varanasi
will embark on a new mission from next week. These religious leaders
will perform shramdan (voluntary labour) to clean up the Ganga river
in the holy city. Led by Swami Avimukteshwaranand, a representative
of Shankaracharya of Jyotis and Sharda-Dwarka Peeth Swami and
Swarupanand Saraswati, they will start offering shramdan in Varanasi
from May 26.
"The state of the Ganga in Varanasi is bad enough to
make one cry. The size of the river has been reduced to half due to
paucity of water and the pollution is almost nauseating. We have
waited all these years for the government to do something about the
pollution in the Ganga but now we will do it ourselves," says
Mahant Acharya Vignesh who has come down from Haridwar to
participate in the shramdan.
Indian Army team on a
mission to save Ganga
Varanasi, May 12, 2008: A team of two officers and 14
jawans from the Indian Army are out sailing two bouts - special Army
boats - to spread awareness against the increasing pollution in the
river. The 50-day expedition that started from Haridwar on April 14,
will end at Farakka in West Bengal on June 6, covering a distance of
1,700 km. “It was an ambitious adventure expedition for us in the
beginning. But the plight of the river provoked us to make it a
full-fledged mission to save the river from pollution,” said Major
Ajay Garg from Golden Key Division of the Indian Army (Dehradun).
KOLKATA, April 3, 2008: After announcing a Rs 25
crore grant for the development of the river Hooghly during the
Ganga festival last August, Ms Ambika Soni, Union tourism minister,
is yet to sanction the funds. The area demarcated for the
beautification project was from Princep Ghat to Sarbamangala Ghat.
Rajya Sabhha, March 13, 2008: The monitoring of
water quality of river Ganga under the Ganga Action Plan indicates
that the water quality of river is not complying with the desired
standards in stretches along the towns of Kanpur and Varanasi, but
meeting with the norms in its stretch along the Haridwar town. The
levels of Fecal Coliforms (bacterial indicator for health concerns)
are also reported to be exceeding the maximum permissible limit of
2500 MPN (Most Probable Number) per 100 milliliter at many of the
monitoring stations along river Ganga except in upstream locations
of Haridwar.
Since 1985, with the implementation of Ganga Action Plan
(GAP) for pollution abatement activities in the identified polluted
stretches of river Ganga, a total sewage treatment capacity of
1765.34 million litres per day has been created so far for Ganga and
its major tributaries. Despite phenomenal increase in the urban
population along the banks of the river leading to increased
pollution loads, the water quality of river Ganga has shown
discernible improvement in terms of organic pollution at major
locations, over the pre-Action Plan water quality. This information
was given by the Minister of State for Environment and Forests Shri
Namo Narain Meena, in a written reply to a question by Dr (Shrimati
) Najma Hepttulla, in the Rajya Sabha today.
New
Delhi, March 07, 2008 (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday
decided to hear the issue of discharge of untreated sewage into the
Ganga posing a cancer threat to people living on its banks. Two
applications filed in the apex court pointed to threat of deadly
diseases afflicting due to domestic sewage pollution of the Ganga in
36 towns in four states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and
West Bengal.
The applications pointed out that the pollution posed thread
of diseases like gall bladder cancer, mild intestinal disease and
kidney complications. The court, which is monitoring the ambitious
Ganga Action Plan aimed at checking pollution in the river, was
informed that the serious health hazards due to domestic sewage
pollution had been confirmed by Industrial Toxicology Research
Institute, Lucknow.
Advocate Krishan Mahajan, expressed the urgency of hearing
the health threat to around 76 per cent of the people living on the
banks. He said that the latest report of the Lucknow institute had
found that Ganga waters have become home to a virulent form of E-coli
bacteria (producing the Shiga toxin) that can lead to ailments
ranging from mild intestinal disease to severe kidney complications.
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