Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat is hopeful of an <g data-gr-id="28">iflux</g> of visitors to the state in <g data-gr-id="39">upcoming</g> <g data-gr-id="29">Ardh</g>-<g data-gr-id="30">Kumb</g> fair in Haridwar. The state government is expecting over 5 crore visitors.
CM seems confident of organising the event and keeping full faith on official S Murugesan in making all possible arrangements for one of the largest Hindu religious events.
So far, the state has not received any financial package for this fair from the Centre. Interestingly the last BJP-led government had got Rs 700 crore package from the then-UPA government in the Centre. It’s strange that while then CM Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ yearned for Nobel Peace Prize for successfully organising the <g data-gr-id="32">event,</g> while opposition Congress had targeted the ruling BJP party for <g data-gr-id="31">Kumb</g> scandal.
In recently concluded Kanwar fair, lakhs of devotees openly used the plastic sheets and plastic can for carrying holy water. A team of NGT led by commissioner advocate Sharik Zaidi recently discovered blantant violations of plastic <g data-gr-id="42">bans</g> on the both sides of Ganga river. The team discovered local shopkeepers still using plastic bottles and polythene sheets and nagar nigam and Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board are lackadaisical in their approach.
Ganga is life-lines for more than 30 <g data-gr-id="45">per cent</g> of <g data-gr-id="36">national</g> population from Gaumukh to Ganga Sagar before merging with <g data-gr-id="37">Bay of Bengal</g>. The holy river is already heavily polluted, and mass dipping of pilgrims will mar its purity if not management efficiently. In <g data-gr-id="35">water-deficit</g> country, it’s our collective responsibility to save our water resources for future generations.
Ganga water National Green Tribunal (NGT) blanket ban on plastic use in <g data-gr-id="33">holy</g> city and ongoing Clean Ganga project will expect pilgrims to strictly follow the guidelines set by these agencies.
The management of millions of pilgrims at Haridwar will be <g data-gr-id="23">litmus</g> test for Harish Rawat-led government. Toilets will remain a big problem for the arrangement of <g data-gr-id="21">large</g> congregation of devotees in <g data-gr-id="22">small</g> city near Ganga. Moreover, the threats of terrorists looming large during <g data-gr-id="24">Kumb</g> fair can’t be ruled out.