"Life will only be OK is Ganga is OK" -Pujya Swamiji
On the 5th June, the World Environment Day, a special Ganga Samvaad (an open dialogue) event was organized by Life OK, the popular Indian television channel, at the Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi. The event brought together spiritual leaders, important media persons, journalists, celebrities and policymakers on a common platform to continue the deliberations upon the current state of the river and the need for ground-level contribution by citizens.
Life Ok is using their popular Devo ka Dev Mahadev TV serial as a platform to inspire people to preserve and protect our national rivers, thereby being a shining example of the positive impact Media Social Responsibility can bring in social change. Pujya Swamiji applauded their efforts. He had said previously at Life OK’s conference during the Kumbha Mela at the Kumbh Mela that “Life will only be OK if Ganga is OK,” and the team agreed that they too were dedicated to this vital cause that affects nearly half a billion people in the Ganga River Basin.
The event brought together the following important dignitaries:
- ~ Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, President of the Parmarth Niketan (Rishikesh), Founder of Ganga Action Parivar
- ~ Honourable Shri Harish Rawat, Union Minister for Water Resources
- ~ Shri Tarun Vijay, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) National Spokesperson, BJP
- ~ Shri Dilip Mandal, Editor, India Today
- ~ Dr. B D Tripathi, Expert Member, NGRBA
- ~ Professor Vijay Kaul, Faculty of Applied Social Sciences & Humanities, Delhi University
- ~ Shri Manoj Tiwari, Famous Actor & Singer
- ~ Shri Ajit Thakur, General Manager, Life OK
The Samvaad held in Delhi was the fourth in a series of events, first launched in Haridwar followed by the Kumbha Mela in Allahabad, then Varanasi. This series was especially geared at discussing how restoring and preserving Mother Ganga is an important action point to be incorporated and acted upon during the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2014. The important dialogue was brilliantly moderated by Sumit Awasthi, senior anchor of Aaj Tak.
Honourable Shri Harish Rawatji explained that the situation is challenging because the current surface water that is available is being depleted while the reserved groundwater and aquifers that it depends upon are also over-exploited. He was hopeful that with more conscious water policies and management, India, like other countries, could effectively address its water crisis.
Respected Tarun Vijayji said, just as Pujya Swamiji often says, that we often have a tendency to blame others for our problems but that in this situation no one else is to blame for the pollution of our rivers but the people of India themselves. He urged that reduction of plastic waste could significantly prevent choking up our water ways and sacred soil. He pledged that he would with the help of other delegates present like to create a ghat during the Kanwad Mela where religious waste would be appropriately disposed of, and he asked Pujya Swamiji to bring together religious leaders to make a collective announcement to the public about alternatives to common practices that are polluting the sacred water bodies. He said that Sanatam Dharma is something which must be flexible and dynamic with the changing times, and time had come that a paradigm shift occurred in traditional practices, re-evaluating the impact of our religious and cultural practices on the river’s ecosystem.
Pujya Swamiji said that these were all great suggestions but now we must have a National Ganga Rights Act to make it a crime strictly punishable by law to pollute the river in any way. He advocation for the creation of an independent, high-powered committee, which meets regularly, with the full authority to have the final word on all matters relating to the national river and its holistic health. He said that models like the Metro Rail Commission and the CAG serve as success models of how such a dedicated committee would work for restoring Gangaji.
Dr. BD Tripathiji traced the continuous actions of the government back from when Respected Smt. Indira Gandhiji was the Prime Minister of India to current day Respected Dr. Manmohan Singhji, applauding their efforts and pointing out that laws are already in place for the river but accountability and monitoring have not been effective. He also agreed with Pujya Swamiji and Shri Dilipji that the issues and challenges facing our rivers needs political will and must be a priority for all political parties.
It was agreed upon that the time has come that restoring Gangaji and Yamunaji – not just as a religious and spiritual issue, but as an environmental and human rights issue – must affect the Vote Banks of all politicians during the upcoming elections. They also pointed out that a detailed action plan to effectively solve this serious water crisis must be included in the two main Indian political parties manifesto, for both BJP and Congress, within the next three months before the elections.
In the final note, Pujya Swamiji invited the Life OK team to bring the next Samvaad to the sacred banks of Mother Ganga in Parmarth Niketan (Rishikesh) and show a positive example to all stakeholders and the nation of what a difference preserving and protecting the sacred banks of Mother Ganga can have on the environment, human health and world peace.
