Frankly Speaking
Fran Peavey | May, 2002
From this month, we start a column with Fran Peavey, co-founder of the Sankat Mochan Foundation. She will respond to the most interesting letter written each month.
Dear Fran,
My wife and I are thinking about visiting Varanasi. We're wondering whether we should bathe in the Ganges or not. Is it safe?
Bill S, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
FRAN'S RESPONSE
Congratulations, Bill, for considering what I hope will be a memorable trip for you both.
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Fran Peavey, center, is a founding member of the Campaign, for a Clean Ganga |
Your time in Varanasi won't be complete without a boat trip along the Ganga (Ganges). And if you also want to take a holy dip, may I suggest that you do it on the other side of the river where the pollution load is not so great.
If you'd like to visit Tulsi Ghat in the old city, check out the Sankat Mochan Foundation. It runs the Campaign for a Clean Ganga and also a research laboratory facing the river at Tulsi Ghat. You will see "Water Quality Laboratory" painted in large letters looking up from the river. Our lab people will be happy to explain our Campaign, and also how they go about taking river pollution measurements. You'll then understand why I think you should take your dip on the other side of the river.
We're hopeful the government will agree that an effective sewage system needs to be built, so that everyone who comes to Varanasi will be able to bathe safely. And that the Goddess Ganga will again flow pure and free.
Fran Peavey is one of the founding members of Sankat Mochan Foundation, which leads the Campaign for a Clean Ganga. She is also President of Friends of the Ganges USA.
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