7-km long human chain to raise awareness on Ganga pollution

Thousands of people today held each others' hand and reaffirmed their pledge to save the national river, Ganga, which has drawn the attention of the environmentalists world over due to its alarming pollution level.

Students, men and women formed a 7-km long human chain this morning at the world-famous ghats on 'World Water Day', contributing their bit to raise awareness about rising
pollution in the holy river and save it from extinction.

Hand in hand, thousands of them pledged in this regard from the Assi ghat to Adikeshav ghat.

Sankat Mochan Foundation, an NGO working towards making the Ganga pollution-free, had organised the event for the 11th consecutive time.

NGO's chairman Veerbhadra Mishra said through the human chain, they wanted to draw the government's attention towards
flow of sewage into the Ganga which has led to its pathetic
condition.

Filled with chemical waste, sewage and animal and human remains, the river poses major health risks to around 400
million people living by its side and others who benefit from
it, he said.

Another hurdle in the form of silting results into chocking of its flow, he said, adding construction of big dams is a major cause of low water level in the river.

"Nearly 243 dams are slated to be constructed on the tributaries of the Ganga in Uttarakhand. This will obstruct the flow of water into the main river. There will be sand dunes and the water level will be low," Mishra said.

Local BJP MLA Shyamdev Roy Chowdhary said efforts have always been made to clean up the Ganga, but none have praved
successful.

"Even the Ganga Action Plan in 1986 yielded little result," he said.