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Rs 51,000 crore to stop sewage flow into Ganga, Centre says

NEW DELHI: Backed by Hindu religious leaders, the Centre has decided to begin its Ganga cleaning exercise by adopting river-friendly practices for disposal of bodies, residues of 'Puja Samagri' (waste from religious ceremonies) and idol immersions.The idea is to provide proper facilities for such practices so that they do not pollute the river. This is part of the government's "short-term measures" to clean the Ganga that would possibly be implemented in the next six to 18 months.Construction of environment-friendly crematoriums and enclosed

etted podiums for 'Puja Samagri' and idol immersion and providing basic facilities to the families — who cannot afford to cremate bodies properly and are therefore forced to dispose off half-burnt bodies into the river — are couple of suggestions which would be taken up on priority."Sadhus and saints have supported the idea and have assured me that they will accept any technology which the government deems fit to reduce pollution by providing proper facilities for cremation and disposal of ceremonial items into the river", said Union water resources and Ganga rejuvenation minister Uma Bharti on Friday.The matter was first discussed in detail on July 7 when 'sadhus' and 'saints' had assembled here during 'Ganga Manthan' (brainstorming on the river cleaning suggestions). They had voluntarily requested the participants, including water experts, environmentalists and scientists, to come out with the solutions so that the Hindu religious practices (Sanskars) do not pollute the river. They had given examples of Haridwar, Varanasi and other cities where many 'Sanskars' are held along the bank of the Ganga."Usually cremation grounds are close to banks of river Ganga. The 'sadhus' and 'saints' have said they will accept any technology which ensures that contents used in the cremation are not dumped into the river", said Bharti while sharing details of initiatives taken by her ministry in the first 100 days of the Narendra Modi government.Acting on advice of the "religious leaders of all religions", she said, her ministry had formed a technical committee comprising director, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), secretary of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and a senior professor (Vinod Tare) of IIT-Kanpur to suggest solutions to deal with the practices that have been polluting the river for ages.(Devotees perform Ganga aarti on the occasion of Ganga Dussehra festival in Allahabad: PTI Photo)She said these steps were part of her ministry's "short-term measures" which would be taken up within six months and would be fully implemented in 18 months in order to keep the river safe from polluting materials."There are medium-term measures like dealing with the industrial discharges into the river and there are long term measures like handling/constructing of sewage treatment plants along all urban centers along the Ganga. While the ministry would hopefully complete the medium-term measures in three years time, the long-terms measures may by implemented in next 10 to 12 years", said the minister.She said she would be meeting representatives of industries on October 8 and discuss with them the measures to deal with those polluting discharges.