Mother of missing seer, Ganga activist Das begin fast-unto-death for river conservation

Mother of the missing seer and Ganga activist Gopal Das has started a fast-unto-death on the banks of the Ganga river in Rishikesh, demanding a stringent law for the conservation of the river.

Shakuntala Devi (62) began her fast at the Triveni ghat on Wednesday. She said it was her son who had inspired her into joining the cause.

"Like my son I am also sitting on a fast which will continue till the Ganga Act for which all seers sacrificed their lives comes into force," she told reporters at Triveni Ghat.

Complaining against the manner in which her son's mysterious disappearance for over a week was being handled by the authorities, she alleged that neither the state nor the central government was serious about finding him.

Das had begun his fast against mining in the Ganga riverbed in Badrinath and had been fasting at Triveni and Bag ghats in Rishikesh.

He went missing on December 5 from the Doon Government Medical College and Hospital, where he had been brought for treatment.

On October 11, veteran environmental activist GD Agarwal died at a Rishikesh hospital 111 days after he began a hunger strike for a pollution-free Ganga.