Once again, faith comes in the way of keeping the holy river clean
Ipsita Chakravarty & Atul Vishwanathan TNN
Ipsita Chakravarty & Atul Vishwanathan TNN
New Delhi: It was the grim side of the festivities. As hundreds of idols were immersed at Gita Ghat and Kalindi Kunj on Sunday, the Yamuna grew steadily murkier. Despite new guidelines made by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), there was little improvement this year. Both the immersion ghats saw phenomenal amounts of waste streaking the river water. While the water at Gita Ghat had turned a dark, steely grey, the water at Kalindi Kunj, near Okhla barrage in the south, was covered with a thick layer of dirty white foam. Polythene bags, used plates and rotten flower garlands floated down the water while at Kalindi Kunj, a foul smell pervaded the air. Many of the puja committees claimed to have followed the CPCB guidelines, using only natural paints and dyes and traditional clay for the idols, but a large number persisted in using synthetic materials and chemical paints. Faith and devotion blinded people to the surrounding filth. Ratan Kundu, puja committee member of the Jasola Vihar Sarbojanin Puja, said that many of the people accompanying their idol had taken a dip in the water at Kalindi Kunj. ‘‘If Ma can be immersed in this water, we can also take a dip in it. I know the water is dirty but there is nothing to be done. We just block our noses when we go under water in order to prevent it from going inside. Besides, I have been taking a dip there for nine years now and it has never done me any harm.’’ ‘‘I have been coming here since my childhood. The river can take it, there is nothing to worry,’’ says Dinesh from Daryaganj, dumping bag after bag of waste material at Gita Ghat. With others, it was sheer indifference. Sanjiv of Gandhinagar, who had gone to Gita Ghat, said, ‘‘The river is dirty anyway. What difference will the immersions make? Besides, it is for a religious cause.’’ He added that the authorities should clean the river regularly. ‘‘If they don’t show us the way by regular maintenance, this is what will happen,’’he said. Some, however, were disgusted with the filth. Pravash Barua from the Basanta Beethi Sarbajanin Puja at Vasant Kunj pointed at the putrid water at Kalindi Kunj, saying, ‘‘Who’s going to bathe in those waters? We just take the boat into deep water, turn it around four times and drop the idol into the water.’’ ‘‘We have erected a separate tent at Kalindi Kunj where all the puja refuse can be dumped, instead of throwing it into the water,’’ said Pradip Majumdar, secretary of the Chittaranjan Park Kali Mandir Society.
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