First Prize

Long ago the goddess Ganga descended from heaven, through Siva’s matted locks, to bless the earth forever with goodness and fertility. But now demons attack the mother’s flowing body – Demons of Pollution.

Ganga to one-fifth of humanity, Ganges to some others, to call this river mighty is almost an understatement. As far as this debate is concerned, I truly disagree with the statement that ‘Ganga can never be polluted.’ Actually, it should be stated that Ganga couldn’t be more polluted than what it is today because it has reached its saturation point. Conditions cannot be worse.

In a country seeped in religion and tradition, Ganga is often referred to as Ganga Ma or Mother Ganga .To the Hindus, a dip in the holy river washes away all one’s sins. Wait a minute; taking these into consideration, Ganga can definitely be called a sacred river. But the question arises, “Do people treat it as a sacred river?” Unfortunately the answer is ‘NO’.

Rishikesh, Haridwar, Varanasi and Allahabad are some pilgrim centers, which virtually witness millions drawn to the river every year. They offer prayers in the form of offerings that include dollops of ghee, flowers, and ash, often in ‘plastic bags.’ Unaccounted number of dead bodies dumped into the river. People wash dirty clothes and utensils on the banks of this holy river. Cattle wallowing, mass bathing, floral offerings…the list is endless.

Yes, if we consider it from a religious point of view, Ganga is and will always remain sacred. But to be very rational, Ganga is being polluted by the unwanted chemicals and effluents, which are dumped into this river, just because it is easy to dump than to reprocess it and make it safe. Tannery waste containing pathogen Anthrax bacilli inhibiting the natural purification process of a river can be fatal, in fact is fatal to the aquatic life.

But, have we ever thought who the criminal is? It is we who are the criminals. Even though Ganga is regarded to be the lifeline of crores of people, pollution of this river has never been made a pole issue. The same outlook of the people will continue. They will consider Ganga to be a sacred river and will also worship it. But they will never stop dirtying it.

I would like to conclude by asking a question to all of us present here today, “How many of us are ready to drink and take a dip into the holy waters of the holy river Ganga, flowing here in Kanpur?” I am sure none of us and the reason would certainly be the polluted waters of the polluted river Ganga.

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