Priests in India have come together and decided to make Sunday’s a priority day for cleaning the areas leading down to the Ganga River (ghats). After noticing flowers, polythene and other tossed objects floating chaotically in the sacred river they hope to raise awareness for all nearby to help in keeping the river clean especially on Sunday’s of each week.
General Secretary of Prayagwal Sabha, Rajendra Paliwal shared his view that the Ganga is holy for Hindus and thus one of the primary duties of Hindu’s should be to keep it clean and pollution-free allowing it to remain pure. He further stated that it is the responsibility of priests, who devote themselves to the Ganga, to promote an awareness and to help keep the Ganga banks clean.
The local priests have taken action and started to keep the area surround the Ganga and Ganga itself cleaner while being open to any support and help people can give in its maintenance.
Priests from various organizations including, Beni Madhav Sansthan, Prayag Dharam Sangh and Narayan Sewa Sansthan, have participated in helping to pick up polythene, flower garlands and any other material lying around.
In addition to asking people to help maintain the cleanliness by not throwing objects into the river, the priests have urged district administration agencies to create policies and provisions which will help to reduce waste and maintain a clean-up crew for Sundays.