Swami Gyanswaroop Sanand (former-Prof GD Agrawal) complained that shankaracharyas and other prominent leaders of the religious fraternity have seen the plight of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers but most have not taken any direct action towards preserving these rivers. He said this while addressing mediapersons in Dehradun after conclusion of the three-day tour of various dam affected locations in the State as part of the Ganga Aviralta Chetna Yatra.
Activists and spiritual practitioners from different parts of Uttarakhand and India who participated in the yatra said the indiscriminate construction of dams on the Bhagirathi and tributaries of the Ganga in Uttarakhand has wrecked the environment and lives of the locals.
Speaking to the media, Sanand said, “I took my diksha and guru mantra from Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati and have been requested him for more than a year to visit the Dhari Devi shrine which is slated to be shifted to prevent its submergence following construction of the Srinagar dam on the Alaknanda. However, he has not yet come here. Haven’t the Shankaracharyas seen the pitiable condition of the YamunaIJ Though many sages are aware of the condition of the Ganga, few have done anything to preserve the Holy River, and such people do not have the right to chant ‘Ganga Maiya ki Jai’.”
Atahar Jamal from Varanasi said that even Muslims revere the Ganga and consider themselves purified after bathing in it.