After a death, two more on fast unto death: fight to claim Ganga back is on

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 whooping `20,000 crores to clean the river.However on the ground level no positive results can be seen.
The demise of GD Agarwal has brought back the focus on condition of Ganga in Varanasi, Bihar, Haridwar, Rishikesh and other places
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 unlike many other five star ashrams. I met Swami Shivanad ji there and spoke to him at length. His views on Ganga are at two levels. One is at spiritual level and other regarding what is being done to the river.
He says “Ganga is purest even today. The holy qualities of Ganga are still intact. So called development mentality has polluted rivers and now attempts are being made to show that they want to clean it. Don’t pollute Ganga. Don’t disturb the nature. Let river be in river form, so Ganga will stay as it is, like earlier”.

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 tax to treat it. Use it treated not untreated. Treat factory waste and use it productively. Why is it passed into Ganga? Why is Ganga’s name taken? Does making of ghats near Ganga enable any welfare for Ganga? This is wrong mentality (viklaangmaansikta) for Ganga. That’s why it can’t be said that any work is done for Ganga”.

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 government is all set to ‘destroy’ Ganga completely. Money is being stolen in the name of Namami Gange.

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
Act is passed.
He Says “Since Swami Sanand ji observed the fast regarding the Ganga act in Matri Sadan, it is from here we had decided that if Sanand Ji is harmed in any manner and as now that he is no more, we have decided to carry forward his struggle at the Matri Sadan and continue the protest to get the act passed. After his demise, as I am part of Matri Sadan, it is my responsibility to work for the welfare of Ganga Ji. Now I am on fast. Punyanand Ji, my Guru bhai who is on fruit diet will continue the protest if I am sacrificed like Sanand Ji. After Punyanad Ji some other Saint will continue the protest. The protest will continue till the demands are not met. It will be an honour to make sacrifice for Ganga ji”
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 time bound manner, and ensure that the effluence between Uttarkashi and West Bengal should be in a manner that it is independent of Ganga. In Namami Gange, ghats and steps have been made which is not helping Ganga. All this is scandal in the name of
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 withuninterrupted flow of water in the river. They question the government on interfering with Ganga. The life giving power of Ganga resides in its flow. These activists certainly believe that ‘the flow kills various disease causing agents.
This is the reason behind Ganga’s healing qualities’.