Sadhus Protest Diversion of Ganga (Ganges) River

June 1, 2004

Varanasi, INDIA (May 30, 2004): Hindu seers in Varanasi are up in arms

against diverting the course of the river Ganga for the construction

of a dam.

Called the "Bhagirathi" in the Himalayan region, the mighty river runs

its course of over 2,500 kilometers through plains, where it takes on

the name of the Ganga, before merging into the Bay of Bengal.

The river was diverted across a few hundred kilometers in Tehri, where

the project is coming up.

Hindus however say the Ganga is divine and tampering of its course by

mortals is sacreligious, which would attract the ire of the Goddess.

"We have taken a vow to protest against the construction of Tehri dam.

Until Ganga is allowed to flow freely from Gangotri to Gangasagar and

the garbage is cleaned up we will not live in peace. We are against

the dam," Swami Narendranath Saraswati, a holyman said.

But for all the hue and cry, the protest is unlikely to make even the

slightest dent to the multi-billion dollar project, which is nearing

completion.

World's fourth largest multi-purpose dam is being built at an

estimated cost of 1,700 million dollars and has been under

construction since 1976.

It has been mired in controversy ever since environmentalists, alarmed

by instability of the earthquake-prone region, expressed concern over

its safety and locals complained of poor rehabilitation packages.

But the federal government has stood by the project saying it was

completely safe and built with the higest safety standards.

Authorities also claim over 10 billion rupees has been spent and more

than 80 percent of the affected population have been rehabilitated.

When completed, the dam is expected to generate 2,400 megawatt

electricity, control floods in the area and irrigate areas where water

is not available during the summer.

Source: New Kerala

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