With cremations on the ghats of the Ganga in cities like Varanasi and Haridwar adding to the impurities of the river, the Centre has constituted a committee to recommend technologies to cut down on such pollution.
The technical committee comprises of Director, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Secretary Central Pollution Control Board and a senior professor of IIT-Kanpur. Several Hindus prefer to get cremated on the banks of river Ganga on ghats of Varanasi and Haridwar for salvation.
However, according to Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Uma Bharti the sadhus and saints have supported the idea and have assured her that they will accept any technology which the government deems fit to reduce pollution They have ensured that contents used in the cremation are not dumped in the river.
She said the committee will look into various types of technologies to ensure that rivers are not polluted. She termed the move as one of the several short-term measures to reduce river pollution.
Bharti said government is also concerned with the ‘puja samagri’ immersed in rivers as it is a major factor contributing to its clogging. She said that even polluted water treated of its impurities will not be channelled back to rivers. It can be diverted, used for irrigation and other purposes but not sent back to rivers.
She further said that as part of the initiatives to rejuvenate Ganga, plans are afoot to carry out afforestation on the banks of the river. There is also a proposal to conserve medicinal plants in the upper reaches of the river.