Ganga Dushehra.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Bhudhwa Mangal........A Very Ancient Festival of Varanasi
मुझे अपार हर्ष हो रहा है आप सभी को यह बता कर की "भुद्वा मंगल" जो की काशी (वाराणसी) में होली के बाद पड़ने वाले मंगलवार को बहुत ही भव्य तरीके से माँ गंगा के आँचल में मनाया जाता है, कुशल पूर्वक समपन्न हुआ/ परन्तु चिंता का विषय ये है की गंगा में गन्दगी का अम्बार और उसमे गंगा जल का अभाव लोगो के मन में चिंता का विषय नहीं बन पा रहा है/
लोग सिर्फ आते है और गंगा को एक पिकनिक स्पोट समझकर घूमफिर कर चले जाते है उनको इस बात से कोई सरोकार नहीं है की माँ गंगा की दस कैसी होती जा रही है/ वो भूल रहे है की काशी का अस्तित्व माँ गंगा के बिना कुछ भी नहीं है/ माँ गंगा को बचाने के लिए कोई हाथ बढ़ने को तैयार ही नहीं है और कहते है की गंगा अब ख़त्म होने को है सायद उन्हें इसी दिन का इंतज़ार है .........................
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Do you know?
Do you know that in varanasi there is a very famous and ancient temple of Lord Krishna which is usually open for only one day in a year? The very special thing about this temple is that the shrine of Lord Krishna hangs in air without any physical support. And other important thing is that the idol is non-metallic. The temple opens only for a single day in a year and the day is Sri Krishna Janamastami.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Pollution of Ganga
Pollution in Ganga & Ganga Action Plan Failures
Ganga which is the life line of millions of people and of great religious significance is being polluted by both domestic sewage and industrial pollutants that are being dumped in to the river untreated. This causes health hazard for over 400 million people who directly and indirectly use the river water in their daily lives. In Varanasi rivers "Varuna" and "Asi" have been polluted beyond recognition that now they flow not a rivers but just torrents of sewage and waste water mixing at the start and end of the holy city of Varanasi (Varuna-Asi).
The Ganga Action Plan launched in 1986 by the Government of India has not achieved any success despite expenditure of over five billion rupees. Even though the government claims that the schemes under the Ganga Action Plan have been successful, actual measurements and scientific data tell a different story. The failure of the GAP is evident but corrective action is lacking.The ineffectiveness of the current Ganga Action Plan could be found based on the results observed
| Location / Parameters | Biochemical Oxygen Demand (mg/l) | Fecal Coliform Count / 100ml |
|---|---|---|
| At beginning of the Varanasi City ... Near Assi/Tulsi ghat | 3-8 mg/l | 20,000 - 100,000 per 100ml |
| Downstream of the Varanasi City ... Varuna confluence with Ganga | 20-50 mg/l | 1,000,000-2,000,000 per 100ml |
| Permissible limits for bathing | Less than 3mg/l | Less than 500 per 100ml |
Note : Higher the Biochemical Oxygen Demand, higher is the pollution (conversely there is more dissolved oxygen needed to make the water safe)
मोक्षदायिनी गंगा
आज शिव रात्रि है , लाखों लोग आज बनारस में गंगा स्नान कर महादेव का दर्शन करते हैं । लेकिन आज माँ गंगा की स्थिति पर शायद ही श्रधालुओं का ध्यान जाता है । वो अपने साथ लाये पोलीथींन की थैलियाँ और माला इत्यादि सहज ही नदी में प्रवाहित कर देते हैं और इस तरह वो गंगा जी को साफ़ करने के अभियान को अर्थहीन बना देते हैं।
निश्चय ही गंगा स्वच्छता अभियान वाराणसी में रंग पकड़ रहा है लेकिन जन चेतना के बिना यह किसी काम का नहीं । गंगा जी को साफ़ करना कुछ थोड़े से लोगों का कार्य न हो कर हम सब का कर्तव्य है । जब तक जन जन की चेतना अपने आस पास के वातावरण को स्वच्छ रखने के लिए नहीं जुड़ती तब तक यह महत्वपूर्ण कार्य संभव नहीं है।
वाराणसी में पोलीथिन की थैलियों पर रोक लग चुकी है । पर यह हम सब का और साथ ही यहाँ आने वाले दर्शनार्थियों का कर्तव्य है की वो अकारण ही व्यर्थ की वस्तुएं गंगा जी में न फेंके। साथ ही हम सभी अपने आस पास और परिचितों से पोलीथिन की थैलियों के प्रयोग के प्रति सचेत करें की कैसे ये हमारे वातावरण को प्रभावित कर रहे हैं ।
आशा है की आने वाली पीढियां माँ गंगा को अपने पुराने मोक्षदायिनी स्वरूप में देख सकेंगी और ये हम सब के सम्मिलित प्रयास से ही संभव है ।
निश्चय ही गंगा स्वच्छता अभियान वाराणसी में रंग पकड़ रहा है लेकिन जन चेतना के बिना यह किसी काम का नहीं । गंगा जी को साफ़ करना कुछ थोड़े से लोगों का कार्य न हो कर हम सब का कर्तव्य है । जब तक जन जन की चेतना अपने आस पास के वातावरण को स्वच्छ रखने के लिए नहीं जुड़ती तब तक यह महत्वपूर्ण कार्य संभव नहीं है।
वाराणसी में पोलीथिन की थैलियों पर रोक लग चुकी है । पर यह हम सब का और साथ ही यहाँ आने वाले दर्शनार्थियों का कर्तव्य है की वो अकारण ही व्यर्थ की वस्तुएं गंगा जी में न फेंके। साथ ही हम सभी अपने आस पास और परिचितों से पोलीथिन की थैलियों के प्रयोग के प्रति सचेत करें की कैसे ये हमारे वातावरण को प्रभावित कर रहे हैं ।
आशा है की आने वाली पीढियां माँ गंगा को अपने पुराने मोक्षदायिनी स्वरूप में देख सकेंगी और ये हम सब के सम्मिलित प्रयास से ही संभव है ।
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Level of pollution in Ganga I
Hindus have long believed that the water of Ganga has a special purity. Studies conducted in 1983 on water samples taken from the right bank of the Ganga at Patna confirm that escheria coliform (E.Coli.), fecal streptococci and vibrio cholerae organisms die two to three times faster in Ganga than in water taken from the rivers Son and Gandak and from dug wells and tube wells in the same area. However, despite the natural resilience of the Ganga, the alarmingly high volume of pollution poses an ever increasing threat to the health and life of the river.
The principal sources of pollution in the Ganga are domestic and industrial wastes. Conservative estimates put the effluents flowing into Ganga at approximately 1.7 billion litres each day out of which 1.4 billion litres is untreated.
The Ganga basin is home to over 300 million people, out of which 20 million live in densely populated cities directly along it banks. Most of the urban centres lack proper sewage treatment facilities. 88% of the pollution originates in 27 cities located along the banks. While industrial pollution accounts for only about a quarter of the whole problem, it is by no means insignificant since most of it is concentrated in specific areas and the effluents are more hazardous. The state of Uttar Pradesh alone is responsible for over 50% of the pollutants entering the river along its entire journey to the sea.
Domestic and industrial pollution, combined with deforestation, use of pesticides and fertilisers and other factors, have rendered the water of Ganga unfit for drinking or bathing.
Upstream from Varanasi, one of the major pigrimage sites along the river, the water is comparatively pure, having a low Bio-Oxygen Demand (B.O.D.) and Fecal Coliform Count. However, once the river enters the city these levels rise alarmingly. Measurements taken at the city's various bathing ghats during a few years ago show that the average B.O.D of the water rises by over 1300 percent. The average Fecal Coliform Count at the ghats is over 6000 times what it is before the river enters the city.
The principal sources of pollution in the Ganga are domestic and industrial wastes. Conservative estimates put the effluents flowing into Ganga at approximately 1.7 billion litres each day out of which 1.4 billion litres is untreated.
The Ganga basin is home to over 300 million people, out of which 20 million live in densely populated cities directly along it banks. Most of the urban centres lack proper sewage treatment facilities. 88% of the pollution originates in 27 cities located along the banks. While industrial pollution accounts for only about a quarter of the whole problem, it is by no means insignificant since most of it is concentrated in specific areas and the effluents are more hazardous. The state of Uttar Pradesh alone is responsible for over 50% of the pollutants entering the river along its entire journey to the sea.
Domestic and industrial pollution, combined with deforestation, use of pesticides and fertilisers and other factors, have rendered the water of Ganga unfit for drinking or bathing.
Upstream from Varanasi, one of the major pigrimage sites along the river, the water is comparatively pure, having a low Bio-Oxygen Demand (B.O.D.) and Fecal Coliform Count. However, once the river enters the city these levels rise alarmingly. Measurements taken at the city's various bathing ghats during a few years ago show that the average B.O.D of the water rises by over 1300 percent. The average Fecal Coliform Count at the ghats is over 6000 times what it is before the river enters the city.
