Locals in north India turn 'whistleblowers' to prevent pollution in River Ganges
Later, they emptied these bags on dumping grounds and distributed cotton bags and whistles to other people, so that they could blow it every time they caught someone littering the river.
The whistleblower campaign has been launched under the banner of 'Mukti Mahasangh', a group of social organisations, wherein volunteers will spend 90 minutes along the banks every day in the morning and evening to clean the holy river.
"There is going to be a law formulated for 'whistleblowers.' Now the job of the 'whistleblowers' is that wherever and whenever they sense danger, they blow their whistle, whether it is the danger from corruption, bribery or increasing pollution in the River Ganges. So, people and the government get aware that the 'whistleblowers' have arrived. So, whistleblowers were not really being able to do their job. This is the first time that in Benaras that whistleblowers are taking action and now people are realizing what the actual job of the whistleblowers is. We are blowing the whistle everyday so that those who throw garbage in the Ganga are not doing it anymore and we are clearing up all the litter that is already there in the river," said Rajeev Srivastava, an activist.
Earlier in April, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presided over a meeting along with federal Minister of Environment and Forests, Jayanthi Natarajan and other key officials to discuss the simmering issue of pollution in River Ganges.
Apart from the shrinking river, the accumulation of silt deposit and garbage along the banks has worried the environmentalists despite millions of rupees being spent on the Ganga Action Plan.'
Earlier last month, environmental activist G D Aggarwal had undertaken fast-unto-death as a mark of protest against the government's apathy towards the worsening condition of the River Ganga.
In 2011, the federal government got a $1 billion loan from the World Bank, to fund an eight-year project to clean the River Ganga, particularly the large stretches heavily polluted by industrial effluents and domestic waste.
A group of residents in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh collect waste littered along the banks of the river Ganges and warn other people not to pollute the river by blowing whistles and attracting their attention.
PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL
VARANASI, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA (APRIL 24, 2012) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC)
1. ACTIVISTS BLOWING WHISTLES
2. ACTIVISTS WALKING
3. ACTIVISTS PICKING UP THE LITTER COLLECTED ON THE BANKS OF THE RIVER GANGES
4. ACTIVISTS HOLDING BANNERS
5. ACTIVISTS COLLECTING WASTE IN A PLASTIC BAG
6. A BOY BLOWING A WHISTLE
7. ACTIVISTS HOLDING BANNERS, BLOWING WHISTLES
8. A BANNER READING 'SAVE GANGA SAVE LIFE'
9. (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) RAJEEV SRIVASTAVA, AN ACTIVIST, SAYING:
"There is going to be a law formulated for 'whistleblowers.' Now the job of the 'whistleblowers' is that wherever and whenever they sense danger, they blow their whistle, whether it is the danger from corruption, bribery or increasing pollution in the River Ganges. So, people and the government get aware that the 'whistleblowers' have arrived. So, whistleblowers were not really being able to do their job. This is the first time that in Benaras that whistleblowers are taking action and now people are realizing what the actual job of the whistleblowers is. We are blowing the whistle everyday so that those who throw garbage in the Ganga are not doing it anymore and we are clearing up all the litter that is already there in the river."
10. ACTIVISTS STANDING, BLOWING WHISTLES
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