Ram, teri ganga (bahut) maili - Ram, your Ganges is (very) dirty

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IMMERSION OF DURGA IDOLS INCREASING POLLUTION, ACTIVISTS SAY

 

Patna, INDIA (Oct 24, 2004): Green activists in Bihar say immersion

of hundreds of idols by Hindu devotees over the weekend has increased

pollution levels in the Ganges river, threatening the existence of

water organisms including the dolphin.

 

Green activist Arun Kumar Singh, who runs Green Life here, said the

idols made nowadays contain large amounts of non bio-degradable

material instead of clay that was used earlier.

 

The state capital saw over 1,000 idols being immersed along with the

decorative materials after the popular five-day Durga Puja festival

that ended Saturday.

 

" The Ganges river is considered sacred by the Hindus but we are

damaging and polluting it by immersing idols without caring or

knowing that immersing idols is not good for the river, " Singh said.

 

The synthetic paints applied on idols, detergents, mica, synthetic

flowers, plaster of paris and other items increases the pollution of

the Ganges river, which is known to be one of the most polluted in

India.

 

Environmentalist R.N. Trivedi said the paints and synthetic colours

used for making idols were non-biodegradable and hazardous. They

contain toxic chemicals like cadmium, carbonic compounds, strontium

and phosphorous.

 

" They pose a danger to the lives of water organisms like fish and the

dolphin, an endangered species, " Trivedi said.

 

Well known environmental expert R.K. Sinha, known for his work in

saving the dolphins, said synthetic materials are dangerous to the

river ecology.

 

He said at least five kg of synthetic paints are used in making and

decorating one idol. Going by the latest trend to make idols more

attractive, about 5,000 to 10,000 kg of paint goes into the Ganges

river every year after the Durga Puja.

 

In areas outside Patna, people immersed idols in the Ganges river in

Bhagalpur, Munger and other places in the state.

 

Environmentalists say they favour a campaign to make the people more

aware of the dangers of polluting the river, alternative sites for

immersing idols and using natural colours and materials for making

idols.

 

" The state government should provide an alternative site for the

purpose. The immersion of idols is an age old ritual that cannot be

banned but alternative arrangements would save the river, " Sinha

said.

 

However, the district magistrate of Patna, Gautam Goswami, who was

selected among the Heroes of Asia by Time magazine, said the Ganges

river should be saved from pollution but said nothing could be done

unless steps are taken by the government.

 

Last month a group of environmental activists even staged a mock

funeral at the river to protest the state government's apathy towards

taking corrective measures.

 

Noted environmentalist Medha Patkar during her visit to this city

this year had urged Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi to initiate

measures to save the Ganges from getting further polluted.

 

Raw sewage, rotting carcasses, industrial effluent, fertilisers and

pesticides flow into the river for much of its 2,500 km stretch from

the Himalayan foothills to the Bay of Bengal.

 

The river is highly polluted by the time it reaches Patna, some 1,700

km downstream from its source.

 

Experts say pollution is to blame for a host of diseases - hepatitis,

amoebic dysentery, typhoid, cholera and cancer - among the roughly

400 million people who live in the vast Gangetic basin.

 

According to a government report, a Ganga Action Plan that was

launched with great fanfare and at huge expense in the mid-1980s has

met only 39 percent of its primary target for sewage treatment.

 

The report said less than half of the grossly polluting industrial

units lining the river had installed effluent treatment plants, but

nearly 20 percent of them did not function properly.

 

Source: Indo-Asian News Service

URL: http://news.newkerala.com/india-news/?action=fullnews & id=38638