Choate | October, 2002

A Swede in Varanasi involved in Clean Ganga project...

	Ganga supports almost 8% of the worlds population

Question: Why is a guy from faraway Sweden involved in this project to clean Ganga?

Thanking you,

Amitayush@yahoo.com

Answer: Dear Amitayush,

Thanks for your timely question. Simply put, the Ganga is a global issue as one of the world's great rivers. And as an environmental activist I'm concerned not only with local challenges in my own country but also with the big issues elsewhere. You remember that old slogan, don't you, Amitayush? "Act locally, think globally!"

No river in the world serves so many people. This one river directly or indirectly supports 400 million Indians or about 8% of the world's population - a staggering thought. But the Ganga is severely polluted, at times lethally and this just has to be a concern for everybody in the world when Indians die from waterborne diseases. Not surprisingly, three governments are helping us do something about all this, through their aid programs.

And then there's Mahantji
Those of us who get involved in great causes usually are motivated by a combination of factors, since the human animal is a complicated beast. I think, though, that most of us want to do some good in our lives, beyond the scope of family, friends and job. In my case, involvement happened nearly 10 years ago because of Mahantji. Mahantji's actual name is Dr. Veer Bhadra Mishra, professor of hydraulic engineering at Benaras Hindu University and also high priest at the Sankat Mochan Temple in the same city. He spearheads the Campaign for a Clean Ganga (Swatcha Ganga Abhiyan).

Anyway, a friend called me up at my home in Stockholm one day and asked if we could make room for a gentleman from India who was coming to Stockholm for a few days to deliver lectures on water pollution. I said why not and that's how my wife and I met Mahantji.

After a wonderful week in his company I decided to do something for Ganga. I had always had this urge to do something, anything, that might in some way make a difference, however small or big. And I reasoned then - and now - that if we can clean the Ganga in Varanasi it will send a powerful signal throughout the developing world, where virtually every river is polluted. Millions suffer because of this.

So what I do now is manage fundraising for the Campaign under the leadership of Mahantji. I also facilitate www.cleanganga.com because of my background as a media freak, but my role with this website is mainly advisory.

Lighting the lamps
I remember staying in this hotel in Banaras near Tulsi Ghat, with my window opening out to the Ganga. It was late evening when I saw devotees lighting earthen lamps and then releasing them into the benign river. The lamps drifted lazily with the languid current, like the random nature of life itself.

I really hope that our readers will want to join us in lighting even more lamps of hope for the beloved Ganga. We need more volunteers at each and every level, Amitayush, because there's so much work to be done: So much work to launch a national campaign to puncture the firewall of bureaucratic apathy toward the revered river. Remember this: no river in the world has been cleaned without a public pressure campaign pushing for it.

Please, Amitayush, do tell your friends about us. And thanks for getting in touch.

Sincerely,

Roger Choate

Roger Choate is development coordinator of the Campaign for a Clean Ganga