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December 16, 2008

India Struggles to Clean Sacred Ganges River
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Millions rely on river that runs from Himalayas and passes through 120
cities for drinking water 
Morning bathing at Ganges River in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India 
India's government's efforts to clean the badly polluted Ganges River
have been given a fresh impetus after the river was declared a national
heritage. But a visit to the holy Hindu city of Varanasi finds there are
challenges to cleaning a river that is sacred to the country's 930
million Hindus. As the early morning sun graces the ghats, the wide
concrete steps to the river's edge at Varanasi, hundreds of Hindus come
to bathe. The ancient city, with its narrow cobblestone lanes, has for
hundreds of years drawn the faithful to the Ganges. More than 450
million people in five states live near the river, known as Ganga Mya or
"Mother" Ganges. It runs from the Himalayas and passes through about 120
cities. Millions rely on its waters for drinking.

Environmental hazards abound But population growth and economic
development take a toll on the river. Every day, 1.7 billion liters of
effluent run into the river - most of it untreated. Day after day, the
remains of Hindu followers are also committed to the Ganges. The World
Health Organization describes the river as an "environmental
hazard".Environmental experts say each year the pollution contributes to
the deaths of up to 1.5 million children under age five from dysentery
and diarrhea. It raises the threat of diseases such as cholera, typhoid,
guinea worm, and trachoma. For 25 years, the Sankat Mochan Foundation
environmental group has led calls for cleaning the Ganges. Veer Bhadra
Mishra is president of the foundation and a Hindu priest."The pollution
in Ganga is contributed by two sources; the point sources of pollution,
that is the sewer outfalls, open drains discharging domestic sewerage
and industrial pollution along the whole length of Ganga - the 2,500
kilometer length - and they contribute 95 percent of the pollution,"
Mishra explained. "So this has to be stopped."

New initiative seeks to protect river In November, the government
declared the Ganges a national river and established the Ganga River
Basin Authority to protect the river. This new initiative comes a
quarter of a century after the first "Clean Ganga Campaign" began. The
government says its plan replaces older piecemeal efforts with an
integrated approach that looks at both the quantity and the quality of
the water flow. The initiative has been widely welcomed. Varanasi Ganga
evening ceremony Supporters of one group, Palawal Jogpit, of Haridwar,
led celebrations to the river at Varanasi. The group spokesman is
Jaideep Aeya."We are giving thanks to the government of India and the
religious bodies and those who work for the freedom of the Ganga," Aeya
explained. "Now the government of India has considered Ganga Mya as a
national river. We are giving thanks to them after 50 years Ganga is a
matter of pride for all the Ganga putras."Aeya says health concerns are
at the core of the latest initiative."If Ganga water is free from all
pollutions and the sewerage they all will be free from these diseases.
And our view, the view of Puja Samiran Jay Jimarad, is, 'clean India and
healthy India'," Aeya said.

Chronic power shortages hinder clean-up effort But Mishra at the Sankat
Mochan Foundation has doubts. He says the initial effort to clean the
river included construction of water treatment plants, but it was
bedeviled by power shortages and other problems."Ganga Action Plan phase
one has been completed - between 1986 and 1994. So the claim was that
Ganga Action Plan in Varanasi was successful - that is, no sewerage
flows into the river and the treated effluent is good enough to use in
the agricultural fields. But this has not happened," Mishra noted. He
says the latest initiative, while attracting public and media interest,
does not provide legal force to anti-pollution efforts."Ganga as a
national river and with this there should have been an ordinance with
this announcement that the discharge of point sources in Ganga from one
end to the other end must be stopped - this should not happen. That
would have given us so much power and so much encouragement - that has
not happened."

Some are unrealistic about current state of river Many people are not
interested in scientific arguments. For them, the Ganges - the Mother
River - can never be spoiled, no matter what mixes in its waters.
Boatman on River Ganges in Varanasi, India Larkhan is a boatman and
father of two who plies the Ganges every day. For him the waters are
sacred."This is the nature of Mother Ganga - God of the Shiva. This is
the Shiva City in Varanasi," he explained. "[For] All Indian people,
Ganga is very holy. I like Mother - nobody, no Indian people, feel that
Ganga is dirty Ganga, really, not dirty. People take the plastic, the
paper, everything and take to the Ganga but Ganga really not dirty."As
the sun sets at the end of each day, thousands gather along the Ganges
to give thanks to the waters. The rituals are key to daily life here at
Varanasi. For officials the challenge lies in finding ways to cleanse
the river, even as communities depend on it for water and economic
growth, and!
  as millions of the faithful come to its banks each year in the pursuit
of spiritual cleansing.