There is an air of expectation in Varanasi about the positive changes that are expected to come with Prime Minister Narendra Modi being the local MP as well. The biggest challenge he faces, though, is in cleaning the Ganga
My friends from Bangalore took me by complete surprise when they insisted on travelling with me to Varanasi, despite their tight schedule. Their plan was to spend a few days in Kolkata. Their insistence: “We have to watch the Ganga Aarti. We feel drawn to it after watching Modi attending it.” Such is the effect our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left with many who watched him at the Ganga Aarti in this temple town over many channels that aired it in May this year.
Three months have passed since the Prime Minster attended the Ganga Aarti in Varanasi; three months since he took oath as the Prime Minister of India; and three months since he gave up his seat in Vadodara to retain that of Varanasi. All put together, he triggered the hopes, aspirations and beliefs of all and sundry in this temple town of Uttar Pradesh. The common refrain that was Har Har Modi, has now converted to Achhe din ayenge (Good times will come). (Har Har Mahadev is the chant pilgrims recite on their visit to one of the 18 Jyotirmay lingas, the Vishwanath temple, Varanasi). The belief is that Mr Modi will now act as the all-powerful figure and convert this city that houses the famous Vishwanath temple, into one of the world’s best heritage cities.
As I sat in an auto-rickshaw on my way to the hotel from the airport, I started a conversation with driver Mahavir Prasad. I wanted to gauge his expectations of Mr Modi. His opening sentence brimmed with positivity, “Just look how well the traffic is controlled at every point. Earlier there was no system while we drove through the roads of Kashi. There is a system now with all traffic police on the alert. It has made life simple for us and for you.”
A great beginning I thought. We went to the hotel, changed and headed straight for the temple. Not much had changed in the road to the site. Oxen strolled around everywhere and traffic was not allowed into this street. I spotted one ox standing right in the middle of a sari store. The owner was amused at my surprise, “No matter how much this city is transformed, the oxen here will be a part of its heritage as they are all Nandi bulls.” (Nandi bull is Shiva’s mount on which he rides.)
The road was not as crowded as at other times that I visited this temple. My greatest surprise was waiting. As I stepped into the entry of the narrow alley that leads to the temple and right to the end, the cleanliness was striking. No flowers or fruit skins were littered, no waste-paper or other packets to be spotted; and the lane was wiped clean and dry. So much in such a little time has been taken care of, I thought. A pujari (priest) gave voice to my observation: “Nothing is impossible for our Prime Minister. You see he is extremely spiritual, and we have noticed that. With such inner strength, believe me, a man can make the impossible happen. You wait and see, Modi shall do that.”
Next on my agenda was shopping. Somehow it is difficult to resist oneself from visiting the weavers’ hub in Varanasi. There are around eight lakh people involved in this trade. Over the past decade this sector has faced a huge beating with the landing of machine-made silks and motifs from China. These are sold at a throwaway price as compared to the original Varanasi handloom silks, and they are more preferred by the buyers. lamented, Salim, a 70-year-old weaver, “If this trade comes to an end because of the influx of the copied silks, we shall perish and coming generations will never take to weaving. Someday, Varanasi silks may not be available at all.”
Most old weavers replicated the anxiety. But Rajnikant, who has been running an NGO for the weavers for many years, was hopeful: “When the Prime Minister has promised he shall look after the needs of the weavers here, there is no need to panic anymore. Remember his telling that he would uplift the conditions of weavers in Varanasi, This was also stated in the party’s election manifesto. Never has this issue been taken as seriously by any other Government”.
According to the weavers, their problems are manifold and thus demands are plenty. The weavers here are holding on their last string of hope (that is Mr Modi) that may help them to weave back their dream saris. In their present deplorable condition, they want an assurance of 150 days of guaranteed work. like in the case of many other hand-woven textiles, they want the Government to act on a handloom mark for Varanasi weaves. This was promised to the weavers way back in 2006 by the previous Government, but nothing came of it. The weaving community believes that they will be in a better state and live with much dignity if the woven Varanasi silk is given marketing support through right marketing corporate strategies, like with khadi.
Rajnikant explained, “I have complete empathy for the weavers when they speak out their worries. At the same time, the fact they are feeling better cannot be ignored. They are aware that much action has been taken lately at the ground level, especially for their welfare.” The sector is indeed feeling a little relieved after Union Textiles Secretary Johra Chatterjee visited them last month and had dialogues with the weavers for about three long hours. She gave them a good two hours’ discussing the future plans of the Government to uplift them besides giving them a patient hearing. Ms Chatterjee also made a proposal to set up a local trade facilitation centre for the weavers in Varanasi.
Everything seemed to be brimming with hope and happiness in this trip till I decided to take a ride in one of the boats at the Ganges in the Ashwamedh Ghat to watch the evening aarti. My mind was focussed on the spiritual ethos all around me. The aarti began and I remained lost in the ritual till the end. It was a heavenly experience, but the ride back to the land was a little depressing. The boatman, Guddu, pointed out a couple of sewage opening and said, “Jab tak yeh nahi rukega tab tak Gangaji dard mein jiyenge” (Unless these sewage openings into the Ganga are not plugged, the river will live a sad life). His predicament almost prodded me to go and meet Veer Bhadra Mishra, a renowned scientist who for decades as been working relentlessly on cleansing the river Ganga.
This time I expected to see a happy and hopeful scientist, but it was not the case. Mr Mishra was still the same. He said, “I am not excited because I am a realist and not a dreamer.” With this opening sentence he moved on to discuss how worried he has been ever since he attended the ‘Ganga Manthan’ meet at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on July 7. He expressed his concerns post the meeting: “I was appalled listening to the mammoth plans of transportation that was discussed. If this river, which gave birth to one of the ancient world civilisation, is now used for commercial and tourism purposes, I am afraid the river will be too burdened. The plan to construct dams every 100km from Allahabad to Haldia is crazy, as these would reduce the Ganga to a stretch of ponds. The river will stop flowing and breathing.”
So what is the first step towards cleaning up this riverIJ “The solution is not a difficult one at all”, Mr Mishra said. Just like the young boatman, he too spoke about the sewage that drains into the river every day. “It amounts to 350 million litres per day, and this should be stopped immediately to save the river.” The most urgent requirement, according to him, is the installation of sewage treatment plants at different points. The main hurdle here is land that will be required to set up these plants. “There is much barren land all around. And there is no need to set up all the STPs in Varanasi. The plants can be set up in the adjoining districts of Jaunpur, Mirzapur and Chandauli through which the Ganga flows”, Mr Mishra pointed out.
However, I noticed a silver lining in all what Mr Mishra shared: “People here have been reiterating the coming of achhe din, but I am sure that is not enough. Our present Prime Minister has been a doer in his previous role as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. None of us needs to tell a wise and hard-working person such as him what all he should do to keep his promise to people. And let us hope we soon see the ministry that has been especially carved out for Ganga is at serious and meaningful work.”