Ganga Samagra Yatra by Uma Bharati concludes in Gangotri
Ravindra Saini
THE month long Ganga Samagras Yatra conducted by senior BJP leader and head of the party’s Save Ganga Project, Uma Bharati, concluded in Gangotri on October 28. She made it clear that her Yatra has no political intension and her endeavour is purely to save the holy river.
The Yatra began from Ganga Sagar on September 20 and passed through all the states from where the Ganga flows. Many senior leaders of Uttarakhand BJP were present in Gangotri when the Yatra concluded. A total of 80 public meetings in West Bengal, 8 meetings in Bihar, 2 meetings in Jharkhand, 27 meetings in Uttar Pradesh and 4 public meetings in Uttarakhand were addressed during the entire distance of 3,190 km. Apart from the public meetings, the Yatra was accorded warm welcome at 289 places.
Talking to mediapersons she said the Yatra would bring positive results both at the government level and also in the mentality of the common masses. After spending some time in Mayapuri temple, she proceeded to Har Ki Pauri where she, without naming anyone, said people say that they are concerned about the plight of the Ganga, but still the pollution in the river goes unchecked. No efforts are been made to facilitate unhindered flow of the Ganga across its basin. About the response she got during her campaign, she said she has got overwhelming support from politicians and the local people, who want to come forward to save the holy river.
She said it is possible to clean the Ganga through scientific ways. There are requisite technologies to undertake treatment of sewage flowing into the Ganga. She said the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) launched to clean the river has turned out to be a total failure and now the need is to involve a consensus on the cleaning of the Ganga from Gangotri to Ganga Sagar. She urged that no water treated or untreated should be discharged into the Ganga to save it from extinction. The STPs installed in cities from where Ganga passes, should be used for treating the water discharged from various industrial units. Then the treated water should be reused. This would help in saving the holy river from pollution.
She said if Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh takes an honest initiative, then it is possible to have a strong law in place to protect and conserve the holy river. Before starting the Yatra from Ganga Sagar, we had presented the holy Gangajal to 725 MPs and Ministers. All of them had shown interest in the campaign, which aims at saving the holy river from getting polluted. She said all Indians should vow that they will prevent Ganga from getting polluted. If we are able to save the Ganga, we will save the human race, she said.
About various dams being constructed on the river, she said she was not against development, but wants the flow of Ganga to remain uninterrupted. “My campaign is not against generating power through Ganga and its tributaries. However, this can be done without undermining the basic objectives of keeping the river clean and unrestricted. This can be done with out even touching the Tehri Dam for instance,” she said.
