Gangotri Glacier, where the River Ganga emergesThreatened By High Numbers of Pilgrims

[krsna]

 

www.newkerala.com

 

GANGOTRI, UTTARANCHAL, INDIA, July 30, 2005: The heavy footfall of a large number of pilgrims visiting the hills around the Gangotri Glacier, where the River Ganga emerges, is increasingly becoming a threat to the environment. Gangotri village once housed a temple and a few simple places to stay but it is turning out to be an environmental nightmare. Its famous waterfall is now surrounded by hotels coming up over deforested land. The commercialisation of the area is polluting the river and causing the glacier to melt. In recent years, the glacier has been retreating and the implications for the country are frightening. Glaciers are the major source of country's fresh water. Experts feel that if the glaciers melt faster than they form, there will be shortages and drought downstream. Sometime in the next millennium, the holy Ganga could even dry up. In the past 50 years, the ice has been melting five times faster than before.

 

People are largely to blame for the environmental degradation. Tourists and thousands of pilgrims travel the precarious mountain roads and trails to get here. Residents of the area feel that the melting of the glacier and the degradation of environment is due to the Government's commercial promotion of the Gangotri region. "First, the government should close down all hotels there. They are also selling land over there. This all should be stopped and then the pilgrims should be told not to venture there," said Vidhachal Samwal, a Hindu priest.

 

There are now calls for restricting pilgrim movement to Gangotri only. But, pilgrims feel that this move will hurt the religious sentiments of many. "We must bring the holy water from where it originates and then offer it in the temple where we have taken the pledge to do so. But, I agree that we must take care not to pollute the environment. We all know that this is wrong," said Naresh Kumar, a pilgrim.

 

Over the years, the number of pi lgrims has increased from 100,000 two decades back, to about 500,000 in the last three years. The pilgrimage concludes in July. Come Shravan, the auspicious monsoon month of July-August in the Hindu calendar, and hundreds of thousands of saffron-clad pilgrims are seen thronging Gangotri and Gaumukh. The Hindu pilgrims, also known as "Kanwarias," arrive barefoot from all over the country and converge on the banks of the Ganges to collect its waters annually. Tradition has it that the pot containing the Ganges water must not touch the ground till the time of consecration. Charitable organizations put up makeshift stands where the pots can be kept. All along the route to Haridwar, voluntary organizations put up food and medical stalls to cater to the pilgrims. Pilgrims return to their hometowns with the collected holy water and offer it to the statues of Lord Siva as a gesture of thanksgiving.