Millions of pilgrims visit Varanasi to take a holy dip. But this ancient ritual is threatened by untreated sewage dumped directly into the Ganga-along with the disposal of human corpses and animal carcasses, human and animal feces, and other pollutants. x

The Campaign aims at increasing public awareness about Ganga pollution, in keeping with their religious beliefs and lifestyles.

Three years after the launch of the campaign in 1982, the Indian Government announced a cleanup plan for the Ganga: the Ganga Action Plan. Unfortunately, sewage treatment facilities built between 1986-1993 have not led to effective relief of river pollution.

This is confirmed by data from the Swatcha Ganga research laboratory set up at Tulsi Ghat with support from Swedish and Australian environmentalists. In some ritual bathing areas in Varanasi, fecal coliform pollution can be up to 3,000 times the safe level for human beings. Fecal coliform is a measurement of human and animal waste in water.

The laboratory has a storehouse of data relating to Ganga pollution at Varanasi, dating back to 1992. Eight different parameters are measured.

Public awareness
An ambitious three-year "public awareness" project in Varanasi launched by the campaign in 2001 aims at making the causes of "non-point pollution" better known and understood both locally and India. These issues include open defecation, laundering activities (dhobi ghats) and removal of corpses and carcasses from the waterway. Pilgrims and citizens alike are being encouraged to adopt appropriate measures.

Campaign workers patrolling the 7 km stretch along the ghats are now removing human and animal corpses every day. The workers are also retrieving plastic bags, floating sludge and litter every day from the river.

Dead bodies, including partly cremated corpses, are typically consigned to the river by next-of-kin who cannot afford proper cremation. Corpses do not contribute significantly to river pollution, but do entail public health considerations.

A conference of pandas (priests) who conduct rituals along the ghats was held in February, 2002 under the auspices of the campaign. The priests discussed various ways of altering ingrained social habits that contribute to Ganga pollution and agreed to spead the word.

Later in the year a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Campaign and a similar cleanup campaign along the River Thames in metropolitan London. At the same time, Friends of the Ganges UK being formed in the London suburb of Southall that has a significant Indian population.

Starting in 2002 the Campaign launched a series of workshops across the Ganga Basin aimed primarily toward local communities. Workshops focus on their rights under the Indian Constition to take charge of environmental issues, including Ganga pollution. The program is funded by a grant from the Asia Foundation in San Francisco, California, in cooperation with the United States-Asia Environmental Partnership. The program includes the first-ever Clean Ganga Day in Kolkata (Calcutta) in 2003 that aims at increasing greater national awareness of the issues facing the great river.

Non-electrical water treatment system
The main problem is raw municipal sewage, spewing directly into the river in Varanasi and 102 other cities along the waterway. A new type of water treatment system is clearly indicated for the Ganga in the holy city.

So the Campaign turned to the University of California. An alternative technology system was devised that does not rely on electrical power, which can be erratic in northern India. Instead, it is designed to utilise the force of gravity to move sewage into ponds where it is biologically treated with algae. Deadly coliforms and pesticides are among the pollutants that are virtually eliminated.

This "pond" system - called the Advanced Integrated Wastewater Oxidation Pond System (AIWPS) - is based on a well-established technology that has been used for years in communities across the world, and particularly the United States.

The plan has been endorsed by technical experts in India and abroad, as well as the City Corporation of Varanasi (Varanasi Nagar Nigam).

Swatcha Ganga Environmental Education Center
In 1998 the Swatcha Ganga Environmental Education Center was established at Tulsi Ghat. This is a joint initiative with Australian environmentalists, and aims at providing environmental education and heightened awareness in the community.

In January, 2002 a student mobilisation campaign was capped by a Chatra Sangam or student congress at Tulsi Ghat, while in 2003 an international student congress was also held at the Ghat, sponsored by Australian environmentalists.

Clean drinking water project
In 2000 a clean drinking water project in villages near Varanasi was launched with Australian assistance. This project emerged after an exhaustive program that monitored the health of citizens living near the Dinapur sewage treatment plant located near six villages with a total population of 30,000.

Researchers discovered that the villages were in deep trouble because of the effluent being released from the sewage plant. In one village virtually every inhabitant was bedridden with waterborne diseases.

They were victims of partially treated sewage being used to irrigate fields, contaminating groundwater and causing the water table to rise, making the soil saline and unproductive.

Over the years, repeated surveys revealed that practically all residents of these villages had been down with some waterborne disease or the other. The Campaign for a Clean Ganga stepped in with appropriate medicines distributed free of charge while devising a plan to provide clean water.

A scheme is now operational in the six villages, where a submersible pump draws fresh water from a deep tube well, into a 10,000 liter tank. In January, 2002 Richard Jones, a member of the Australian Parliament, inaugurated the Australian-financed well in Kamauli.

International recognition
In 1999 Dr.Veer Bhadra Mishra, leader of the campaign, was nominated by Time Magazine as a "hero for the planet" for bringing the plight of the Ganga to the attention of the world. He is also listed on the UNEP Global 500 Roll of Honour. Dr. Mishra is the subject of several films, including a Time Warner AOL documentary hosted by American actress Jane Fonda. A clip from the British film Battle of the Ganges can be viewed on www.cleanganga.com

Former President Bill Clinton, in a keynote speech in Agra in 2000, praised the campaign in its efforts to champion clean river water for the 400 million people living in the Ganga Basin. Dr. Mishra introduced Clinton to the throng.

This website
www.cleanganga.com is targeted toward our friends in the media and the general public.We hope it provides everybody with the kind of information they need in order to focus public attention even more keenly on environmental matters.

The media may use our articles, photographs and anything else on this website whether on your cheap holidays to Sharm el Sheikh or more!. We're always grateful when you acknowledge www.cleanganga.com. The site is produced by Indian and international volunteers at the Ganga Readers and Writers Collective in New Delhi and Varanasi.

Organisation
Campaigners working from our offices at Tulsi Ghat in Varanasi co-ordinate the entire movement. We receive invaluable support from volunteers from India and abroad: The Friends of the Ganges network has chapters in Australia, Sweden and the United States. A new chapter in (IS) being formed in England.