On the eve of the first ritual bath of Mahakumbh, which started over a week ago, a group of pilgrims from Bangalore spot a body in the Ganga where it meets the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati.
“It was a grim sight ahead of the Mahakumbh. We looked the other way. What could we do?” said Santosh Lal, on her third Kumbh visit. Another body was fished out of the river at another spot the same day.
The discharge of bodies into the river doesn’t amuse anyone in this part of the country, but environmental engineers admit it is a potential source of bio pollution and much less talked about than it should be.
On an average, 20 bodies are pulled out of the river every month. Most belong to people whose families have no money to pay for the last rites or those marooned in superstition.
The discharge of bodies is often made for religious reasons. Sadhus’ bodies are often discharged into the river and not cremated; around the Ganga, “jal samadhi” is commonplace.
Besides, over 1 lakh kilos of unburned mass from bodies cremated along the ghats also finds its way into the river. “For religious reasons, people do not cremate the entire body. Sometimes out of poverty, they leave most parts unburned. This mass is discharged into the river, thereby polluting it,” says Mohd Sikandar from Kumbh administration’s pollution control unit.
Over 20,000 bodies (sometimes 30,000) are cremated along the banks of the Ganga every month. Environmental experts say at least 5 kg unburned mass is discharged into the river from each body. That brings the discharge to whopping 1 lakh kilos a month.
On the discharge of bodies into the river, the state administration has tried to raise awareness among the local residents and sadhus.
“We have received some requests from sadhus for the allotment of land to carry out traditional cremation. But the demand is quite low,” says Kailash Singh of the Allahabad municipal corporation.
During the Mahakumbh, over 50 personnel of “Water Police”, a special cadre, is manning the river to scout for bodies or animal carcasses.
Around 40 boats have been pressed into service and boating has been banned at Sangam ghat, the most auspicious place for the holy dip.
Even locals feel the practice of discharge of bodies into the Ganga must end. “People have been polluting the river for ages. They throw away bodies of snake-bitten and leprosy-afflicted persons even today. This is unacceptable,” says Satish Chandra Mishra, a local resident.
The state is now promoting electric crematoria to assist poor people with the last rites. There are two crematoria in Allahabad and four furnaces. An NGO has been roped in to aid the task.
But Sanjeev Pradhan, environmental engineer with Allahabad MC, admits: “Our electric crematoria are hugely underutilised. More awareness needs to be raised.”
Until the awareness comes, the Ganga will continue to bear the brunt of bio pollution, the least talked about in the larger debate on river’s violation.
Protecting purity
Around 80 tanneries have been closed to ensure Ganga water remains clean during six ritual baths of Kumbh, the next being on January 27
On Makar Sankranti, the colour of Ganga water was measured at 15 Hazen units, indicating it had its natural colour
As this measurement rises, water turns reddish brown, primarily because of tannery-based pollutants
Wednesday 23 January 2013
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130122/nation.htm#7
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