Bodies surface in Ganga: Hindu religious beliefs come in the way of river's clean-up

Lucknow: Between January 12 and 16, more than 108 bodies – some wrapped in cloth but all in various stages of decay – came floating in the Ganga and got stuck on the muddy bank and sandy islands in the shallow waters at Pariyar ghat in Safipur area of Unnao. Local journalists were alerted by residents and soon disturbing visuals of crows, vultures and dogs scavenging on the bodies were on television. Politics over the dead kicked in soon. State BJP president Laxmikant Bajpai and scores of BJP workers reached the spot to demand cremation of the bodies. He said the bodies appeared more like the ones brought after a post-mortem examination. He alleged that the administration had decided to bury the bodies “to hide its failure". On Thursday January 15, senior Samajwadi Party leader and Urban Development Minister Mohammad Azam Khan alleged in Rampur that the bodies had been brought to the spot in trucks by the Unnao BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj. He said the bodies were thrown in Ganga to “tarnish the image of the SP government” in the state. [caption id=“attachment_2052389” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Crows feed on a body floating in Ganga. AFP.[/caption] In Achalganj, activists of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal gathered to shout slogans against Azam Khan and later set his effigy on fire. District convenor of Bajrang Dal Sonu Bajpai condemned Azam’s statement regarding Sakshi Maharaj, describing it as “shameful.” The Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati also demanded a CBI investigation into the recovery of bodies in Unnao, blaming both the state and Centre for the situation. Congress MP and chairman of National Commission for Schduled Castes and Tribes P.L. Punia expressed concern at the incident but also slammed Azam Khan’s statement, terming it “ridiculous". The holy Ganga was once again in the news for unholy reasons. This came even as the central government was making a commitment to the Supreme Court that the river would be cleaned before 2018. Just how difficult is it to fulfill this commitment? Very, given the host of factors - from Hindu superstitions to industrial effluents to rampant dredging - involved. According to locals in Unnao, about a dozen bodies are brought for cremation at Pariyar ghat every day, and bodies of children and unmarried women are immersed into the river as per Hindu religious beliefs. According to a panda in Bithoor, the bodies were stuck because the level of water in the Ganga was very low. The Unnao district magistrate Saumya Agarwal was quoted as saying that the bodies appeared to have been buried in the fields which were later submerged when the water level went up. And now that the water has receded, the bodies have surfaced, she said. A police official said that most probably the bodies had been immersed in the river because of social and religious reasons and there could be no foul play involved. Incidentally, more than 50 persons had died after consuming illicit liquor in Unnao and Lucknow districts a few days before this incident, and locals had been alleging that the toll in the hooch tragedy was much higher. Sources in Unnao said dozens of bodies, including half-burnt ones, are still being immersed in the Ganga. At Nanamau ghat in Bangarmau, about 100 bodies are brought for cremation every day and many of them, including unmarried women, children and people who died from snake bite etc are immersed in the Ganga. According to a priest, Pandit Nand Kishore Shastri, the people must end this practice as it was destroying the purity of Ganga. An Arya Samaj priest Ram Gopal Arya of Unnao also said that according to Vedic rites bodies of Hindus must be completely burnt. The state government has been quick to react as the bodies were found a day before Makar Sankranti (January 14) when thousands take a dip in the Ganga in Allahabad during the ongoing Magh Mela. The precariously low level of water in the Ganga had caused a stir as the sadhus gathered for the ritual bath on Paush Purnima on January 5 had threatened to boycott the ritual. On January 10, saints of the Dandi sect had staged a protest fast against the low level of Ganga water. Reacting to this, the state’s irrigation minister Shivpal Singh Yadav had suspended irrigation chief engineer JPN Singh over low water level and delay in releasing water from Narora at Bulandshahr. Later 2,500 cusecs of water released from Narora Barrage reached Sangam on Sunday (January 11). However, this can only be a quick fix. “However, the task of cleaning up the river will remain daunting till superstitions and political one-upmanship continue in this fashion,” said Sandeep Kumar, who runs an NGO associated with the Clean Ganga mission in Unnao.