I come as an orphan to you, moist with love.

I come without refuge to you, giver of sacred rest.

I come a fallen man to you, uplifter of all.

I come undone by disease to you, the perfect physician.

I come, my heart dry with thirst, to you, ocean of sweet wine.

Do with me whatever you will.

Panditraj Jagannatha

Ganges River at Varanasi, India --- Photo Credit: Måns Sjödahl

In this hymn from the collection of verses entitled Ganga Lahiri (trans: The Waves of Ganga) from the 17^th century, Brahmin poet Jagannatha expresses the divine inspiration and love he feels while he sits at the banks of the Ganges River in India. His lyrics display how the people of India see this holy site: as a mother, a place of rest and refuge, a healer, and a source of inspiration and, importantly, of purity. Several Hindu myths revolve around the Hindu goddess Ganga, most of which focus on her travel from Heaven to Earth and taking her place as the river; in this way, the river can be viewed as a direct connection to the Hindu divinities. Reverently addressed as Ma Ganga or Ganga Mata, the river is thought of as an all-welcoming mother, symbolizing life and fertility, especially since the banks of the river are one of the most agriculturally fertile in the world. Hindu devotees believe that water from the Ganges can purify their sins and help the deceased find their way to Heaven. Families will keep some of its water in their homes, feed the holy liquid to the dying or the sick in traditional medicines, and take pilgrimages to the Ganges River to swim or drink in it, as well as to release the ashes of their cremated deceased into its sacred waters. Over half a billion Hindus participate in Kumbh Mela, an important religious festival on the banks of the Ganges River, as well as many other such gatherings that revolve around its waters.

Kumbh Mela, Haridwar, India --- Photo Credit: Edson Walker

Pure Image, Impure Reality

Although so highly venerated, Ma Ganga has quickly become the opposite of its untainted and all-cleansing image. With India’s growing population, industrial, agricultural, and religious practices have steadily increased, adding a deadly taint to the river. The river’s water is used for the daily household needs of the roughly 300 million people that reside on the riverbanks, such as washing clothes, bathing, and cooking. Over 1.3 billion liters a day of sewage, as well as a large number of trash, food, and human and animal remains, from nearby populations pollute the river. 260 million liters of toxic waste from the hundreds of factories along the river, including hydrochloric acid, heavy metals, bleaches and dyes, pesticides, and other such hazardous chemicals, as well as agricultural runoff, including chemical fertilizers and pesticides such as DDT, easily find their way into the river. In addition, corpses from incomplete cremations and bodies whose families could not afford cremation can be found floating in the river. Cow carcasses, a sacred animal of Hindus, are found along the river as well. Furthermore, damming of the river and practices surrounding irrigation can add to the pollution.

Fecal-coliform counts in the water at Varanasi, a significant religious site on the banks of the river, were found to be 60,000 per 100 ml, and in other areas the counts go up to 1.5 million per 100 ml – a count of 50 per 100 means that the water quality is unsafe for safe bathing or drinking. Such pollution leads to water-borne diseases, such as cholera, hepatitis, typhoid, gastroenteritis, and dysentery. These pollutants, in addition, are carcinogenic, and also cause kidney and liver problems. Those humans and animals that frequent the river, whether out of need, devotion, or religious tradition, are left unprotected from these illnesses, and water-borne diseases are responsible for an estimated 80% of health problems in India.

Varanasi, India --- Photo Credit: Elsie Love

The Battle Thus Far

In 1985, the Indian government launched the Ganga Action Plan (GAP).  Utilizing a combination of sewage treatment plant installations, bans on particular pollutants, and fines for polluting industries, the plan hoped to treat 882 million liters a day of sewage and improve the water quality to the safe bathing standard. However, more than 20 years later in 2006, it was found that the GAP was behind schedule by over 13 years, having met only 39% of this target. Despite the sheer amount of money – $226 million – that has funded these projects, these past efforts on the government’s behalf were only able to create a few wastewater treatment centers, many of which have fallen prey to power failures.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2008 gave the Ganges River a national heritage status. That same year, his government created the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) and implemented Mission Clean Ganga, a project that hopes to stop pollution of the river by 2020, which will cost $1.5 billion.

The Sankat Mochan Foundation, founded by Veer Bhadra Mishra in Varanasi in 1982, is a grassroots-based organization, pushing for the cause of fully cleaning up the Ganges River. Mishra, both a Hindu priest and retired professor of hydraulics engineering, has tried to implement scientific-based systems to treat the water as well as work with locals to educate communities about the pollution.  Several other citizen-based or non-profit organizations have appeared in the past decade or so, and yet it will take a larger, countrywide effort to truly reach the desired goals.

The Latest Step

On June 14^th, the World Bank agreed to loan $1 billion to the Indian government to help finance Mission Clean Ganga, as well as aid the project with technical assistance. Although the NGRBA has a variety of strong members in fields ranging from finance, environment, power, and water resources, and the amount of funding is better than it had been for previous projects, many have expressed negative and skeptical opinions toward this new Ganges River Clean-Up attempt and the World Bank loan.

Shripad Dharmadhikary, coordinator of a center that analyzes water and energy issues, believes that because the plan primarily works on a top-down approach, it cannot truly work. In addition, Dharmadhikary states that the true problem surrounding the lack of reliable and usable water treatment and pollution prevention systems is not that there is not the infrastructure – it is that the Indian administration is not truly committed to working towards these goals; he believes this issue must be dealt with before real change can occur.

Varanasi, India --- Photo Credit: Elsie Love

Furthermore, others have voiced apprehension with the recent World Bank participation, as earlier funding from the Bank resulted in dams and other projects that have hurt the environment.

Mishra of the Sankat Mochan Foundation has worked in conjunction with the Berkeley, CA-based GO2 Water, Inc., founded by William Oswald and Bailey Green. The water and environmental technology company designs “Advanced Integrated Wastewater Pond Systems” (AIWPS), which are natural wastewater treatment plants that use a series of ponds with algae and specific bacterial environments to cleanse the water. AIWPS has an advantage over the currently established mechanical treatment plants in India in that it can overstep the electrical power deficiencies that hinder the older plants and it actually removes the fecal coliform from the water unlike the mechanical plants, which simply break down solids. In a conversation with Sacred Sites International, Bailey Green conveyed his concern that his project might not be accepted for funding, and, more importantly, that the money from the World Bank would not be used for the correct purpose. The Indian government system has been viewed as fairly bureaucratic, making projects such as cleaning up the Ganges River extremely difficult to make progress in, let alone complete. Those who wish to help have tried before and come against several obstacles, and this new project and new addition of money might not come as a boon – from past experience, others like Bailey Green prepare themselves for the rejection of their support and ideas.

Officials claim that the current project has a wider environmental scope and a focus on educating citizens, which could be viewed as a necessary change from the GAP. Yet the task continues to be ambitious. The separate projects under the envelope of Mission Clean Ganga – as well as the division of money between them – must be extremely well managed in order to make a lasting change to the Ganges River’s water quality.

Conclusion

Although there are primarily spiritual and traditional explanations for Ma Ganga’s purity, science has proved that her waters might actually be more special than other rivers’. It has been reported that the river’s water has anti-bacterial properties that give it oxygen levels 25 times greater than the levels in other rivers. However, with the vast amount of pollution being dumped into it, the Ganges River is losing this extraordinary quality. Along with health concerns and cultural preservation, this approaching loss adds to the need for India to find a long-term system to clean up the river.

However the Indian government decides to handle its clean-up and preservation of the sacred site that is the Ganges River, it must act quickly and efficiently if it hopes to save the most lives and have the river usable for domestic life or agriculture once more. Hopefully, with a combination of this loan, a well-organized government team, the right wastewater treatment systems, and the support of Indian citizens and Hindu devotees for strong community education and participation, Ma Ganga can finally be restored to her nurturing and purifying ways.

Rishikesh, India --- Photo Credit: Elsie Love

Sources

Kumar, Nitin. “Ganga The River Goddess – Tales in Art and Mythology.” Exotic India. Aug. 2003. Web.

Kung, Hoi Na. “The Ganges: India’s Holy River Fouled by Pollution.” Sacred Sites. Spring/Summer 2010, XX11 ed.: 5-7. Print.

Najar, Nida. “India Aims $1 Billion at Sacred but Filthy Ganges.” The New York Times. New York Times, 14 June 2011. Web.

Ramachandran, Sudha. “Murky Realities in Clean Ganges Initiative.” Asia Times Online. 2 July 2007. Web.

“River Ganga.” Gits4u. Ganapati Information Technology Services. Web.

Nantucket Sunrise is Sacred to Wampanoag

The Wampanoag Indian Tribe of Massachusetts have spiritual practices that require them to visit sacred sites with a clear view of the rising sun when they perform special ceremonies on the solstices and upon the death of elders. The Cape Wind project would compromise the natural integrity of a sacred site for the Wampanoags by industrializing their view of the rising sun.

The Cape Wind Farm’s plan is to build 130 wind turbines, each over 400 feet tall. The project would be several miles from the Cape Cod shoreline covering a 25-square-mile section of federal land.

Action is urgently needed before February 29, 2010. Please write to Secretary Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, Department of the Interior, 1849 C St NW, Washington, DC 20240; or email Secretary Salazar at feedback@ios.doi.gov; or telephone the Department at 202-208-3100.

Please make the following points:
1. The Wampanoag, People of the First Light, require an unobstructed view of Nantucket Sound in order to view the rising sun on solstices when they perform their sacred ceremonies and upon the passing of elders.
2. Wampanoag ancestral remains are buried in the Sound and the wind turbines would dis

For more information contact: the Wampanoag.

Other resources, including an excellent photo of the sound with proposed Wind Turbines, can be found at: The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound.

The Cultural Resources Preservation Coalition (the Coalition) is a group of historic preservation, tribal, archaeology, anthropology, trails, recreation, business, and place-based organizations, led by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Coalition advocates for the protection of irreplaceable cultural resources located primarily on federal public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the National Park Service (NPS).

For more information visit the National Trust website: Cultural Resources Preservation Coalition

The magnificent prehistoric painted cave of Lascaux, located near Montignac, France, is in serious danger of being destroyed. The paintings are deteriorating from an overgrowth of black spots from fungus and bacterial growth. You can read more about this at the International Committee for the Preservation of Lascaux.

Urgent-Action Letters are desperately needed to urge the French Minister of Culture to work with the International Committee for the Preservation of Lascaux. Send letters to: Mr. Frederic Mitterand, Minister of Culture, 3 Rue de Valois, 75033 Paris Cedex 01, France.

Please send polite letters making the following points: 1) Please convene a committee of international experts to develop a study on the causes of the damage. 2) An effective scientific treatment must immediately be developed and employed to stop the proliferation of black fungus. 3) There must be scientific supervision of the cave; this is immediately needed and needs to be part of the ongoing management of the site. 4) An overall management plan for the cave should be developed and implemented with independent expert monitoring.