New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Shortly after she concluded her over 3,000-km journey along the Ganga, BJP leader Uma Bharti Wednesday said a continuous stream of the river held as sacred by Hindus should be allowed to flow from all dams to save it.
Addressing reporters here after her Ganga Samagra Yatra, Bharti said they were not against dams or development but the river should not be destroyed for development that would only last a 100 years.
“A river’s life is of millions of years. It should not be destroyed for development that will last at most 100 years,” Bharti said.
“We are not against dams or development. A continuous stream of the river should be allowed to flow from all dams on its course to save the river,” she said.
The BJP leader also called upon religious leaders to give out message of saving the Ganga from pollution, and urged the union government to have regular meetings of the Ganga river basin authority.
“Industrial as well as domestic wastes should be treated before being flown in the Ganga,” she said, adding that special attention was needed on the leather industry belt near Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
She also stressed on the need for desilting the river and controlling the sand mafia.
Bharti recently concluded a journey along the course of the Ganga, which flows through northern plains catering to one of the most densely populated regions in the world.
Ganga also has special religious significance for Hindus as its water is considered sacred.
The journey which started Sep 20 from Gangasagar, the mouth of the river in West Bengal, concluded at Gangotri in Uttarakhand Oct 28, from where the river originates.
