“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. ?Aastha requires sacrifice and that is why he observed fast unto death,? he said describing the constitution of Experts Group by the Central Government just an eye wash, which will produce nothing.
Noted thinker Shri Govinda-charya said recognising the river just as a water body is nothing but our ignorance and if we regard her as mother it should reflect in our daily acts. He stressed the need to launch an extensive awareness campaign among the Kanwariyas so that they could know how the holy Ganga is being ruined by the rulers.
Acharya Jitendra of Ganga Mahasabha said the repeated changes in stand of the leaders leading the Ganga protection movement has adversely affected the trust of the people. He said, ?the agitation by Shri Sunderlal Bahuguna failed because he concentrated only on rehabilitation and not on aastha and belief. But the growing number of Kanwariyas is an indication that the aastha of people towards the Ganga is also growing.?
Shri Jitendra Bajaj wondered why the Government is bent upon ruining the fertile layer of soil that is spread by the Ganga every year in the plane areas, just for a few MWs of electricity. He said, ?after the construction of Tehri Dam, the spread of this fertile layer of soil has stopped and the money the government would spend on removing this soil from the Tehri Dam would prove very costly.?
(FOC)
