The Holiest - The Dirtiest

Hi,

From last 10days I am living in an Ashram in Rishikesh on the Banks of river Ganga Maiya. The Ashram itself is with a mission to decrease pollution of the Sacred river Ganga Maiya. Yesterday Morning at around 8am I went to take bath on the Ashram Ghat. I was astonished to see the water coming are so dirty filled with flowers, this and that which people uses in Aarthi of Ganga Maiya along with some dust that shop keepers or some one may have sweeped into the water. I waited for almost 10-15mins, got frustrated but was in very mood of taking bath, so I did in that water only. I got doubt and enquired with a localite standing behind me, he says, this is Puja time. People will be doing Puja. IS THIS THE WAY TO PERFORM A PUJA ???

In the evenings in the Ashram I am staying, Aarthi happens daily for almost 1-1:30hrs during which they strictly stop the pilgrims to leave "Aarthi" in the river. Even in other timings also it is banned to do so in this Ghat, but no security stands there, and we won't follow any rules unless there is some one to cry upon us.

I have been going through a report on Gangotri Dham. I was frightened to see that there is no central sewerage system and all toilets have been built with septic tanks. But many Buildings drain out their effluent in to the river Ganga. My doubt is if the wrong practices are happening at the starting of the Holiest river why cannot it become dirtiest ??? In Rishikesh also there is no proper dumping site(atleast not in Ram Jhula) due to which lot of wste goes into the Holiest River.

In Haridwar, where Kubhmela is going to happen in the 1st quarter of 2010, there are no dustbins provided in Hari-ki-Pauri, where people leave the garbage on ghat and it goes into the river when there is a wind, because of river normally there will be pleasant winds which gets polluted with this garbage. I asked shopkeepers there, they said people come in the night to clean, but after 23 months one day me with my friends went there to enjoy our night there. We were there whole night but didnot see anyone cleaning it. Road that connects Bus stand/Railway station with Hari-ki-pauri is horrible to travel. When you travel on rikshaw, that too when the puller is in not good mood, you will eperience how HELL can be, in a holy place :(

Hundreds of people or organisations are seiously working on the mission "Clean Ganga". But this mission will not complete unless we the users of it use it more sacredly. 5days back we saw some polythene sheets going in the River, me and my friend Nitish got down into the river and take off them and try to put them in dustbins. I felt so satisfied for doing that even though its very small thing for people who see from the bank.

Myself trying to be a part of the team working on rejuvenation of Gangotri, with environmental measures to stop pollution of the Holy Ganga Maiya. Just planning to takeup this project as my thesis project(may be its Big as a theisis project, but for a Cause its worth taking up).

Hoping for the best

PS: Say BHARATH instead of INDIA wherever possible because the name INDIA gives a sense of slavory ~ Baba Ram Dev