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Saints yet to decide on bathing
TO BATHE or desist from taking dip in the holy Ganga on Mauni Amavasya falling on January 29 is a question uppermost on the minds of hundreds of saints camping in the Magh Mela here. A decision to this effect will be taken at 3 pm on Saturday by the saints. Irrespective of the High Court order and seniority, saints are upset over the inability of the government to keep the Ganga pollution free. The Ganga water, despite assurances and claims made by the Irrigation minister, continues to be unfit for human consumption.
TO BATHE or desist from taking dip in the holy Ganga on Mauni Amavasya falling on January 29 is a question uppermost on the minds of hundreds of saints camping in the Magh Mela here. A decision to this effect will be taken at 3 pm on Saturday by the saints.
Irrespective of the High Court order and seniority, saints are upset over the inability of the government to keep the Ganga pollution free. The Ganga water, despite assurances and claims made by the Irrigation minister, continues to be unfit for human consumption.
On the other hand, all four Shankaracharyas today gave their consent to be part of the campaign to free the holy river from pollution, said Swami Hari Chaitanya of Teekarmafi who had been spearheading this campaign since the last Kumbh in 2001. To free the holy river from pollution, saints in their own ways carried out a ‘yagna’ near the Sangam and took vow to keep their struggle on for its emancipation.
The ‘yagna’ was begun by Shankarcharya Vasudevanand. The ‘purnahuti’ was offered by Subodhanand - representative of Dwarkapeethadhishwar Swami Swarupanand who himself could not come to the ‘yagna’ site due to illness. The other two Shankaracharyas have given their consent to be part of the movement to free the Ganga from pollution.
Saints have already sent a five-point memorandum to the President, PM and the CMs of UP and Uttaranchal demanding a permanent solution to the problem.
They also demanded release of pure water in the stream before important bathing days falling in the month of Magh. They sought action against those officials who were directly responsible for the pollution of the river and representation of saints in the official mela committee to keep a check on the administration which at times took arbitrary decisions.
Meanwhile, president of the Akhil Bhartiya Sant Sangharsh Committee, Shree Brahm Swarup Brahmchari, who is also the spokesman of the Akhil Bhartiya Dandi Samaj, warned the administration to ensure that the river became pollution free.
He said the Magh Mela was going on because of the saints who did not wish to hurt the sentiments of millions of devotees thronging the Sangam here for emancipation. It was the moral responsibility of the government to free the river from pollution, he said.
