Musicians converge in north India to create awareness about clean river Ganga campaign

Musicians converge in north India to create awareness about clean river Ganga campaign 

JUNE 12, 2012 Varanasi (ANI)  By Girish Kumar Dubey

Several musicians converged in Varanasi city of India's northern Uttar Pradesh state to create awareness among people about the need to clean river and ensure that it flows without any interruption.

Over hundreds of sitar (a plucked stringed instrument) players attended the campaign on Tuesday (June 12).

In recent years, rising pollution in River Ganga has raised concern among people.

Speaking to mediapersons, a Hindu saint Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati of Jyotirmath highlighted the significance of the musical campaign.

"The flow of river Ganga is interrupted and has become sluggish (at several locations) and it seems that it is a pond. And they (artists) want that the uninterrupted flow of River Ganga should be maintained. The 'ninaad' (the reverberation) that come out during the flow of River Ganga is similar to the sound produced while playing sitar. When the Ganga flows then the 'ninaad' is resonated and sounds akin to the reverberation of sitar," said Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati.

Legend of the Sitar, Pandit Shivnath Mishra and his group through their alluring performance moved and captivated hundreds of audience at the campaign.

Nowadays, scores of non-governmental and social organisations are coming forward to show solidarity for the genuine cause of clean River Ganga campaign.

The major problem faced by this prime river of India is that over 90 percent of its water has been used by hydro electric projects and, barrages besides plethora of unlawful activities.

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 River Ganga Action Plan.

Earlier, 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 approved a $1 billion loan from the World Bank, to fund an eight-year project to clean the River Ganga, in particular the large stretches heavily polluted by industrial effluents and domestic waste.

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 of India's 1.2 billion populations.

Intro

Several musicians converge in India's northern Uttar Pradesh state to create awareness among people about the need to clean holy river Ganga and ensure that it flows without any interruption.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL

Shotlist

VARANASI, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA (JUNE 12, 2012) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC)

1. A BANNER READING '108 SITAR SAPARYA BY PANDIT SHIVNATH MISHRA AND HIS GROUP'

2. ARTISTS PLAYING SITAR (A PLUCKED STRINGED INSTRUMENT)

3. SITAR SEEN IN THE HANDS OF ARTISTS

4. AN ARTIST PLAYING SITAR

5. GATHERING OF PEOPLE AT THE VENUE

6. ARTISTS PLAYING SITAR

7. AN ARTIST PLAYING SITAR

8. A TABLA (INDIAN PERCUSSION INSTRUMENT) PLAYED BY AN ARTIST

9. INSTRUMENTS BEING PLAYED BY THE ARTISTS

10. (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) A HINDU SAINT, SWAMI AVIMUKTESHWARANAND SARASWATI OF JYOTIRMATH, SAYING:

"The flow of river Ganga is interrupted and has become sluggish (at several locations) and it seems that it is a pond. And they (artists) want that the uninterrupted flow of River Ganga should be maintained. The 'ninaad' (the reverberation) that come out during the flow of River Ganga is similar to the sound produced while playing sitar. When the Ganga flows then the 'ninaad' is resonated and sounds akin to the reverberation of sitar."

11. ARTISTS PLAYING SITAR

12. CAMPAIGN IN PROGRESS