Matri Sadan in Haridwar is the place where Swanmi Sanand sat on indefinite hunger strike for 112 days. Subsequently he was removed by the police and admitted to the hospital where he died. Aashram still witnesses a hectic activity as it’s a hub of activists fighting to reclaim ganga. Carrying forward the struggle of Swami Sanand now another swami has gone on indefinite hunger strike
Matri Sadan, on the banks of river Ganga is no ordinary ashram in Haridwar. It is a quiet ashram buzzing with activities all the time. It has been the hub of activities to save Ganga from mining mafia, save ecology, for years now. It was here that Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand, fasted from June 22, 2018 for hundred and eleven days and finally laid down his life demanding a law for conservation of the Ganga. He was forcibly picked from the ashram by the police and admitted to a hospital where he passed away. His supporters indicate towards some kind of conspiracy in his death. Their argument is that he fasted 111 days inside the ashram and nothing happened. But what happened in the hospital that led to his death. They are demanding an enquiry.
Swamis and sadhus have been observing long fast at the ashram to save Ganga. Earlier, Swami Shivanand, head priest of the ashram, and his disciples Nigmanand, Dayanand, Yajnanand and Purnanand observed long fasts to prevent illegal mining around the Ganga in Haridwar. Nigmanand died on the 115th day of his fast in 2011.That time too a conspiracy was alleged but the matter was never investigated properly.
Coverage of the event
Mainstream media did not give wide coverage to him till the time he was fasting for the cleaning of Ganga. It was getting good coverage in local media. Namami Gange is a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He had announced a
The demise of GD Agarwal has brought back the focus on
I took a trip to Haridwar to get a firsthand account of the situation after the death of Swami Sanand. After reaching Haridwar I went straight to Matri Sadan which is a very modest place
He says “Ganga is purest even today. The holy qualities of Ganga are still intact.
Government does not have a policy?
When I prodded him a bit more on the government policy, on his fight for continuous flow of water in the river and whether the policy lacks some key factors, he was very candid in his views. He says “Government doesn’t have any policy on the issue. Is it Ganga’s responsibility to take care of city sewage or city administration’s responsibility? Sewage tax is paid in cities. If sewage is more in cities, administration’s can increase
Demand for investigation
There is also a demand that it must be investigated as to out of `20,000 crores how much amount has reached in pockets and how much is put to work. After Sanandji’s demise, Satyagraha by people has become more fierce. People around the ashram say that such mentality of government was never seen before. Political parties are targeting our religious sentiments. The main point is that
Fight is on
The fight appears far from over. Two more swamis have gone on fast unto death. Brahamachari Aatma Bodhanand is now sitting on fast unto death. He is a young man in his thirties. He says he has taken over from Swami Sanand and the fight will continue till the
He Says “Since Swami Sanand
So what are the main demands? He says “That all proposed and under-construction dam projects should get cancelled. Constructed dams should get decommissioned in a
River Ganga. Work should be done based on ground reality and facts. Mining should be stopped in Gangaji’s riverbed and floodplains”.
Grave situation
Then I set out to travel along the river for kilometres. The situation is not very different from what activists are claiming. NGT orders are being flouted openly. Construction activity is on and administration turns a blind eye.
There is no water in the river and hardly any flow. It is stagnant and filthy. Not very far from Harkipaudighat where famous Ganga Aarti takes place, I saw all the filth possible from plastic bottles, slippers, mattresses, plastic bags in huge quantity. Locals says no
effort has been made to clean it for
days now. It seems government and activists are not on the same page. Government’s idea of making the river a business route is going to be disastrous. There should be no fiddling
This is the reason behind Ganga’s healing qualities’.