In a bid to raise awareness about the heavy pollution in sacred River Ganges devotees fetched water from upper reaches of the water body in the Himalayas to offer to the Hindu deities for upcoming religious festival.
Locals travelled to Tehri village in Uttarakhand province and collected water from the River Ganges to offer it to the Hindu god Shiva on the auspicious occasion of 'Nirjala Ekadeshi' (fast without water), which falls on Thursday (May 31).
It is one of the stern fasts of the Hindu religion where the devotees are not allowed to consume food or water for a day and offer the holy water of River Ganges to lord Shiva.
Talking to mediapersons on Monday (May 28), a local, Vishwanath Singh said that the devotees had to collect water from Tihri, as the water of River Ganges flowing through Varanasi city in Uttar Pradesh is not clean enough to be offered to lord Shiva.
"The water of river Ganges flowing through Varansi is now not clean enough for Hindu rituals. It is severely polluted and to give a warning to the federal government to clean River Ganges we have brought water from 'Tehri. As the legends have it, Tehri is the place where it is believed that the river is entangled in the hair of Hindu god Shiva. We have brought water from there and will offer it to Lord Shiva on Thursday (May 31). We will observe fast without water on the auspicious day and worship Lord Shiva by offering the pure water. After this He should bless mother Ganges with pure waters," said Singh.
The Ganges, apart from the problems of siltation and flooding, has large stretches heavily polluted by industrial and domestic waste.
The Indian government last year approved a $1 billion loan from the World Bank to fund an eight-year project to clean the River Ganges.
The 2,510-kilometre-long river that runs from a glacier in the western Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh supports over 400 million people out of India's population of 1.2 billion.
The river occupies pride of place in the Hindu religious pantheon as a giver of sustenance.
In a bid to raise awareness about the heavy pollution in sacred River Ganges devotees fetch water from upper reaches of the water body in the Himalayas to offer to the Hindu deities for upcoming religious festival.
PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL
VARANASI, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA (MAY 28, 2012) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC)
1. DEVOTEES INSIDE A TEMPLE
2. IDOLS OF HINDU GODS AND GODDESSES
3. DEVOTEES AND A PRIEST STANDING AROUND PLASTIC CANS FILLED WITH RIVER GANGES WATER
4. DEVOTEES THROWING FLOWER PETALS ON THE PLASTIC CANS FILLED WITH RIVER GANGES WATER
5. STICKERS READING 'RIVER GANGES WATER' PASTED ON THE PLASTIC CANS
6. PRIESTS CHANTING PRAYERS
7. DEVOTEES SITTING
8. A GROUP OF PRIESTS CHANTING PRAYERS
9. DEVOTEES OFFERING FLOWER PETALS AND GARLANDS TO PLASTIC CANS FILLED WITH RIVER GANGES WATER
10. (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) A LOCAL, VISHWANATH SINGH, SAYING:
"The water of river Ganges flowing through Varansi is now not clean enough for Hindu rituals. It is severely polluted and to give a warning to the federal government to clean River Ganges we have brought water from 'Tehri. As the legends have it, Tehri is the place where it is believed that the river is entangled in the hair of Hindu god Shiva. We have brought water from there and will offer it to Lord Shiva on Thursday (May 31). We will observe fast without water on the auspicious day and worship Lord Shiva by offering the pure water. After this He should bless mother Ganges with pure waters."
11. DEVOTEES SITTING INSIDE A TEMPLE
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