Sacred River Of India Is Polluted Because Of Our Beliefs

Sacred River Of India Is Polluted Because Of Our Beliefs

 (By Shubhangi Paliwal ) 

Image By:- Goutham Sagar

Rivers of India holds a unique place in the heart of their citizen. Rivers are the main source of living of the Indian people. Some major rivers in India like Ganga, Yamuna, Narmada, Sarasvati, Kshipra, Kaveri, Mahanadi, Brahmaputra. Himalayan rivers are the best to use of white water sports like rafting, waterskiing, parasailing, and other water sports. 

In India, there is seven sacred rivers count as holy rivers. These rives hold a very special place in prayers and traditional practices. These rivers pass through many of the famous places in India like Haridwar, Nasik, Varanasi, Ujjain, Patna, etc. 

River Ganga is the longest river in India & it is the most sacred river to Hindus and worshipped as a goddess. 

Kumbh Mela is a festival and a major pilgrimage in Hinduism held every 12 years, priests gather here for the holy bath from all over in India because of beliefs that “a bath in the Sacred river freed from all our sins of life and become pure soul”. 

Various factors play a part in polluting sacred rivers such as:- 

• Dumped Industrial/household waste and Open defecation along with a high level of pollution coming from religious ceremonies. 

There are several rituals in the Hindu religion in which the sacred rivers follow a vital role. In the Hindu religion, many festivals in which we make a statue of god/goddess and after a certain period of time, we need to dissolve them in sacred rivers. The paint on the statue is not environmentally friendly it is dangerous for life under the water. 

• Festival like Navratri and Ganesh Chaturthi

• Flower/pots and ashes are thrown into the river.

People use sacred rivers to prey, cremate, and immerse. They believe that dead ones will not attain salvation if their remains are not immersed. 

The central pollution control board has warned that the Ganga river's water is not safe to drink. 

The Yamuna and Ganga are the most polluted rivers in India. The litter, household waste goes into it every day, along with animal carcasses. 

Over the years the government made some efforts to handle these problems. 

The government needs to provide an alternative solution for religious ceremonious by creating immersion sites and tough legislation is needed to protect our rivers. 

But the mentality of people cannot be changed overnight. 

We need to take a step forward and seek attention to this matter. 

They need to educate children and made them aware, so they don’t follow these practices when they grow up. 

We need our education system to teach ecological, environmental, and cultural values at school extensively. 

We can develop a mindset of how we can protect the beauty of nature that God has given to us. 

As per a few media reports, in Telangana, the Ganesh murti is made of mud and after the prayer, people dissolve it in the tub, again use the soil for plantation. No use of plaster of Paris (POP) and harmful paint chemical. We need to alter our beliefs, so we can save the river and its beauty for future generations. 

These practices we need to spread all over India. 

And next time you went to Ganga ghat or near to any river, collect as many flowers and leaves as you can and decompose it. 

You want clean and clear water, then start saving it.  

“Be the change you want to see”

“Save the rivers is saving a life 

be a part of it” 

 

Disclaimer:-

The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Light de Literacy and LDL does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.