Shivanand slam Ministers for lingering Namami Gange

As the fast of the environmentalist Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand in Matri Sadan has got into its 13th day on Wednesday, the Matri Sadan founder Swami Shivanand came down heavily on the ministers connected with Namami Gange project, alleging that nothing positive is coming up despite humungous public funds being squandered over the much-hyped project. 

Referring to the letter of the Union minister of drinking water and sanitation, Uma Bharti in which she assured that  the Union minister for road transport Nitin Gadkari was doing everything to execute the project in the right manner, he said that the reality is different. “The reality is that the ministers are just interested to keep the project linger indefinitely so that they and others can fill  their pockets in the name of cleaning Ganga,” he alleged while speaking to The Pioneer.

“The ministers are the biggest enemies of Ganga as they are  out to make political capital out of the Namami Gange project. Besides, they are letting things linger on so that more budgets are cleared and they can earn bucks at the expense of the holy river and the public money,” the seer said.

He said that the letter received through Uma Bharti indicated a small part of  the water being sent to the sewage treatment plant under the Namami Gange programme despite huge budget being sanctioned for the purpose.  “Nothing substantial has been planned under the programme,” he said. 

He further said that the drains have been linked to Ganga while ideally  they should have been linked to the farmers’ fields. 

Shivanand demanded that mining must be stopped in Ganga under Namami Gange mission and   digging  for stones and sand  from the river bed must be completely banned. “Besides, rafting in Ganga and water transportation should also be checked. The provisions of Namami Gange project should be changed to ensure this,” the seer said .

Notably, the former IITian Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand had shot  into the headlines when he sat on hunger strike, demanding uninterrupted water flow between Gangotri to Uttarkashi, resulting in  the suspension of the Lohari Nag Pala Hydropower Project in 2009.