E-Paper
Rising Ganga water changes course of life on ghats of Varanasi
The rising Ganga has forced all the Pandas and boatmen, who earn their livelihood at the ghats, to relocate to safer locations, hitting income badly.
With the Ganga flowing just a little below the danger mark in Varanasi and continuing to rise, life at the ghats has changed completely. Pandas, tourists, boatmen, devotees, everyone has been hit in one way or another.
On normal days, Pt Kishun Pandey sits at Dashashwamedh Ghat, Varanasi. He attends to devotees from early morning to dusk, chanting mantras as they perform puja, and blesses them. In return, the devotees offer him dakshina (donation). Five days back, Pandey was forced to shift to a higher location when rising water submerged Dashaswamedh Ghat, where he usually sits.
Pandey shifted his chauki (wooden platform) to the ghat’s stairs. Within a day, the rising water flooded the stairs too, forcing Pandey to shift still higher and to safety. Pandey now has his chauki placed in a narrow lane near the ghat, where he gets far fewer devotees.
But Pandey is not alone. The rising Ganga has forced all the Pandas, who earn their livelihood at the ghats, to relocate to safer locations, hitting income badly.
Rising water has also flooded the police outpost at the Ghat. Other ghats, including Sheetla Ghat, Ranamahal Ghat, Chet Singh Ghat, Ahilyabai Ghat, too are flooded.
The ‘stage’ for Subah-e-Banaras – a unique, daily cultural and spiritual event – at Assi Ghat, Shivala, went under water on Tuesday, even though it is higher than other ghats.
Even the Ganga Arti, organised daily by the Ganga Seva Nidhi, is now taking place on the rooftop of the office. Tourists are missing the joy of watching the world famous arti as they sit in boats. Sushant Mishra of Ganga Seva Nidhi said that the arti takes place daily on the rooftop because the whole platform of the ghat and even the stairs are submerged.
Tourists are also disappointed as they are unable to catch a glimpse of the beautiful ghats and unable to go boating, as the district administration has banned operation of boats on the Ganga as a preventive measure.
“Boatmen have been asked not to ply boats on the Ganga as the water level is rising fast,” district magistrate Surendra Singh had said after he carried out an inspection along the ghats on Monday evening.
At Harishchandra Ghat, cremations are taking place at a higher location as the platforms are submerged.
Manoj Chaudhary, who helps with cremations, said that people have to wait for their turn for cremations because of lack of space. On normal days, 12-14 cremations used to get done together, but these days, only six or seven take place.
Much the same is the scene at Manikarnika Ghat, only here, the water has reached the lanes.
In the Nakkhi Ghat area, water has entered several houses, forcing people to shift to a higher ground.
According to the Central Water Commission, the Ganga is flowing at 69.66 meters in Varanasi, just a little below the danger mark 70.26 meter, and the rising trend continues.
“On normal days, we earn enough to meet our family expenses. We live happily. As the ghats are submerged, I am quite concerned. I had to shift my chauki to the safety of a lane. I am not able to earn enough because devotees don’t visit me inside the lane. After a bath, they go directly to the temple, or go back. My daily earning has declined drastically,” Pandey lamented.
Pandey doesn’t reveal how much he earns daily, but another priest revealed that on an average, every priest earns ₹800 to 1,000 daily, and their daily income increases during the festive season and during the month of Shravana, when a large number of devotees visit the ghats to take a dip in the Holy Ganga.
Additional district magistrate Satish Pal said, “As many as 27 flood outposts have been set up. In addition, 31 flood relief camps have also been set up to provide relief. A flood relief helpline has also been launched. People may give information related to flood on a toll free helpline number 1077.”
Pal said 11 NDRF rescuers and PAC along with 79 boatmen have been deployed. The Varanasi Municipal Corporation has already made preparations for taking steps required to check the spread of diseases, even as the district administration keeps a close watch on the situation.
