VHP now demands ban on river rafting in Ganges, says it leads to 'many objectionable activities'

It’s not just consumption of beef that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) would like to see the end of in India. It now wants a ban on rafting in the Ganges. [caption id=“attachment_900297” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The Ganges. PTI[/caption] After a two-day meeting of its national advisory board in Haridwar on Tuesday, the VHP leaders said that river rafting “led to many illegal activities” in the holy town of Rishikesh, reports the Times of India. They alleged that the rafting camps are hubs where people “mingle, drink and indulge in objectionable activities on the banks of the holy river, where sadhus and sants gather to meditate”. The Tribune reports a resolution was passed by the VHP demanding ban on rafting in the Ganga from Byasi-Shivpuri near Devprayag, the confluence of the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi after which they are called the Ganga, till Rishikesh. “This stretch is important from spirituality and religion point of view as the Ganga takes shape from Devprayag in the Garhwal Himalayas and reaches the plains in Rishikesh. Saints meditate on the Ganga banks but these are now being polluted with unethical activities such as river rafting and beach camping,” said Praveen Togadiya, reports the Tribune. Apart from the demand for the rafting ban, resolutions demanding enactment of laws prohibiting cow slaughter, use of chemical free urea in agriculture, cleaning the Ganga and construction of the Ram temple at Ram Janmbhoomi in Ayodhya were also passed at the meet.