NEW DELHI, INDIA, February 1, 2003 : Prominent sadhus and Dharamacharyas are protesting the government’s failure to release additional water from Tehri Dam into River Ganga to enable millions of devotees to take a holy dip before Mauni Amavasya on Sunday. The religious leaders also protested the government’s “apathetic attitude” towards the increasing pollution of Ganga and sought immediate steps to clean the river. Pandit N. K. Sharma, Chief Organizer of the Universal Association of Spiritual Awareness, said in a statement on Saturday that thousands of pilgrims had returned to their homes without taking bath during the Magh Mela of Prayag (Allahabad) due to the polluted water. He said the saints have also been demanding, since the beginning of the Magh Mela, a check on the effluents from the tanneries at Kanpur and the dirty drains of Fatehpur area. The Ganga river at Allahabad where the annual Magh Mela was held was highly polluted and the water was not fit for bathing.
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