“Ram Teri Ganga Maili”
The Ardh Kumbh Mela often seen as one of the world’s biggest human gatherings started last week at Allahabad. But it seems that pollution has finally proven to be too much even for the most pious souls who come to the confluence of the Ganga and the Yamuna to wash away their sins.
Sadhus have threatened to boycott a major religious festival, in which millions of people wash away sins in the Ganges river, saying it was too polluted.Thousands of sadhus in their trademark saffron-coloured clothes held protests for a second day Monday, demanding that the river be cleaned up before the next auspicious bathing day on Sunday. “The water in (the) river is so dirty that no one can take a dip. It is dark red whereas the Ganges used to be bluish green,” said Shankaracharya Vasudvanand Saraswati, who heads the main Hindu monastery in the holy city of Allahabad [source].
I guess you can no longer look past the polluted Ganga and see it as the cleansing river regardless of the extent of your faith in its powers. I think the sadhus and the religious lobby are powerful enough to force the government or necessary authorities to begin a massive cleanup campaign and/or to promote non-polluting uses of the holy river.
Technorati Tags: Ganga, Yamuna, Allahabad, Kumbh Mela, pollution, sadhus
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