A unique campaign has been started in the holy city to clean the Ganga here. In the past, several initiatives had been launched to free the river from garbage, litter and debris that clog the flow. This time, the drive involves lifting the idols immersed in the river by devotees from across the country. JP Badoni, a social activist, said that the act of dumping idols in the river stands contrary to the essence of the culture of the land.
Indulging in such affront on the holi river, passing them off as devotion is wrong, he averred. The Ganga is shrinking and we must do something collectively before she is lost ireparably, he said. The campaign started in the morning as a group of youths started the drive from the ghat near the Pantdeep parking in the city. later, some of the pilgrims joined in. Many such idols were extricated from the river with the help of JCB machine. 72 such idols were removed from the river on Wednesday.
Dinesh Joshi, convener of the campaign, said that they had informed the district administration, including SDM, City Magistrate and MNA Haridwar, about the drive two weeks back. However, they have done nothing to faciliatate the campaign, he rued. One tractor for transportation of the removed idols was provided by MNA Haridwar after they had called them up repeatedly, he added. A devotee Sant lal from Bihar said that the ghat and the river looked better following the drive. Another devotee Urmi Devi said such drives should be carried out at regular intervals by the district administration. During the drive, those associated with Geeta Kutir, Iscon Ashram, Agarwal Mahasabha Jwalapur, Gautam Ashram, Ashish Gaud, Rameshwar Gaud, Himanshu Mishra, Mayur and Ajay Sharma were present.