Haridwar: The Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department has failed to take up the annual cleaning of the river Ganga two weeks after draining out the river in Haridwar. Every year from Dasara to Diwali, the entire Ganga canal is closed for annual cleaning on which the Uttar Pradesh government spends lakhs of rupees.
However, this year, no cleaning work of any kind has been taken up in the river which was closed by the department 14 days ago. Apart from the Irrigation Department, many social organisations and the local Ganga Sabha, which used to come forward to clean the Ganges, are also nowhere in sight this time around pushing the cleaning work to the back burner.
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The lack of cleaning work has also threatened the Hindu religious rituals as lakhs of devotees would take a dip in the mythical Brahmakund of Har Ki Pauri at Haridwar. With the water drained out and mounds of garbage piled in the river, the devotees fear whether they will be able to carry out the rituals. ETV Bharat tried contacting SDO Canal SK Kaushik to get his comments on the matter, but did not respond to repeated calls.
He was also not found at the office either. Senior BJP leader and state president of the Small Business Association Sanjay Chopra flayed the department for failing to take up the cleaning work in the Ganga after closing it on October 5. “This shows the inaction of the UP Irrigation Department. All the Ganga Ghats, including Malviya Deep, Harki Paidi, Birla Ghat are littered with dirt.
Earlier, the media used to appeal to the people to clean the Ganga by running a campaign and people also participated enthusiastically in the campaign, but now the media has also stopped paying attention to it. How will the devotees take a dip in the Maha Kumbh?” he said.
He appealed to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Modi to take notice of the matter.
