Former Professor of Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Shri G.D. Agarwal has taken sanyas and is now known as Sanand Swami. He has previously undertaken five fasts unto death for the conservation of river Ganga. He has started the last fast on 22nd June this year. However, the Government has forcibly picked him up and got him admitted to hospital on 10th July where he is being fed forcibly.
Swamiji had suggested three point for conservation of river Ganga as follows.
Hydropower Projects:
The first point for which he is undertaking the fast at present is that the Vishnugad Pipalkoti and Singoli Bhatwari Hydropower projects on Alaknanda and Mandakini Rivers, which are under construction, should be stopped immediately so that the continuous flow of the Alaknanda and Mandakini River is not obstructed by these projects. Swamiji believes that passing the water of holy rivers through hydropower turbines leads to destruction of the spiritual values of the water and therefore we should use other methods of generating electricity such as solar power. He also says that in the next step effort should be made to remove to existing dams on the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi Rivers beginning with the removable of the Srinagar dam which has created the maximum damage to the holiness of the Ganga.
Irrigation:
The second point is the rejuvenation of Ganga suggested by Swami ji is the we have to reduce the consumption of river water for Agriculture. At present almost all the water of Ganga is removed that Haridwar at Bhimgoda Barrage at Haridwar and of Yamuna is removed that Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana. This water is used for irrigation. The much of water is used for the cultivation of sugarcane. It should be known that a crop of sugarcane required 15 to 20 irrigation per year whereas a crop of bajara can grow even without any irrigation and crop like wheat can give reasonably even with 1 or 2 irrigation.Therefore if we shift the cropping pattern in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana from sugarcane to bajra and wheat, the demand for irrigation will reduce and it would be possible to leave more water in Ganga and Yamuna for maintaining their continuous flow. For this purpose Swamiji suggests that the supply of water for irrigation should be reduce by 10 percent every year for the next five years leading to a 50 percent reduction of supply of water for irrigation. The farmers will get large amount of water and shift from the cultivation of sugarcane to bajra and wheat.
Many readers have commented on this that reduction of cultivation of sugar cane will lead to an increase in the price of sugar and impact the people of the country adversely. We would like to mention here that it is indeed it is true that the shift from sugarcane will lead to an increase in the price of sugar in the market. However we say that we should be ready to pay higher price for sugar in order to conserve our holy river.
Inland Waterways:
The third point made by Swamiji is the Ganga should not be used for transport of freight as purposed under the National Waterway No 1 being made from Haldia to Allahabad. He says that using Ganga for transport of freight is like putting a bag of load on one’s mother and using her as a donkey.
we can see the video of Swami Ji for Ganga conservation here.
