Har-ki-Pauri to be part of Ganga again

Sandeep Rawat

Tribune News Service

Haridwar, March 20

Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat today said the state government would nullify the order issued by the previous Congress government wherein it had declared the stream that passes through the sanctum sanctorum of Brahma Kund, Har-ki-Pauri as canal. The previous Congress government orders had paved the way for construction near Har-ki-Pauri Ganga ghats.

The order had created resentment among devotees, seers, the Ganga Sabha and teerth purohits as they say the Har-ki-Pauri Ganga ghat is a part of Ganga, whereas the government ordered termed it mere a canal. Besides, the order had also paved the way for construction works within 200-metre of its area.

The Chief Minister was in Haridwar today to pay obeisance to Braham Kund, Har-ki-Pauri. He said the order of the Congress government was equivalent to sin and he would ensure that it was nullified. “We have to restore the faith of billions of people, who regard the Ganga as the mother deity and the sanctum sanctorum of Braham Kund, Har-ki-Pauri, as a sacred place,” he said.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had prohibited construction ork within the radius of 200 metres of Har-ki-Pauri to make it as well as the Kumbh zone pollution free. But the building guidelines for Har-ki-Pauri, issued by Meenakshi Sundaram, secretary of the Uttarakhand Housing and Urban Development, reads that the flow of water at the stretch that covers Bhoopatwala, Khadkhadi, Brahm Kund, Har-ki-Pauri, Damkoti, Mayapur, Sati Ghat and Kankhal is regulated, so it is not a Ganga tributary.

Ganga Sabha president Purushottam Sharma Gandhivadi and general secretary Ram Kumar Mishra apprised Trivendra Singh Rawat about it. Teerth purohits too urged the Chief Minister to do the needful. Cabinet minister Madan Kaushik said the Congress’ order was intended to favour builders and real estate agents.

Mishra demanded action against those at helm in the previous government for “hurting the religious sentiments” of Ganga devotees.

Teerth Maryada Raksha Samiti founder Sanjay Chopra said during every Maha Kumbh and Ardh Kumbh, millions of devotees arrive to take holy Ganga dip and perform rituals at Har-ki-Pauri. “Declaring it a mere stream to pave way for construction works near the Har-ki-Pauri Ganga ghats is a serious issue. An explanation should be sought from former CM Harish Rawat and the officials concerned,” he added.