Har-ki-Pauri, pilgrims and dismal sanitation

Sandeep Rawat

Tribune News Service

Haridwar, October 6

Har-ki-Pauri, the world famous sanctum sanctorum of the Braham Kund, falls under ward 12 that registers footfall of millions of people throughout the year. Councillor Kanhaiya Khewadiya, though, claims to have kept a special focus on sanitation and basic amenities, area residents have a different story to tell.

Trader Sanjay Aggarwal says Councillor Khewadiya, Mayor Manoj Garg and MLA Madan Kaushik have failed to keep cleanliness up to the mark that Har-ki-Pauri deserves. “Last week, President Pranab Mukherjee arrived at Har-ki-Pauri for a Ganga aarti. The district administration, the Municipal Corporation and the Ganga Sabha went whole hog to maintain high standards of cleanliness at Har-ki-Pauri and on the 6-km route through which the President’s cavalcade passed from the BHEL till Har-ki-Pauri. Why can’t the officials at helm maintain the same standard of cleanliness throughout the year?” questions Aggarwal.

Sandeep Sharma, a veteran lensman who has been providing photography services to pilgrims and tourists for decades, says the sanitation issues are yet to be redressed. Though the officials concerned claim to have been working in this direction, the level of cleanliness is not up to the mark, he says. “Drains get choked on regular basis. Nullahs discharge waste directly into the Ganga near Har-ki-Pauri, but no one took a stock of the situation. Even the Namami Gange project’s impact is yet to be seen here,” he said.

When asked, Councillor Kanhaiya Khewadiya said he would bring it to the notice of Union Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Uma Bharati. “The budget to treat the sewage and stop the flow of drains into the Ganga is quite costly that a ward councilor can’t bear. I am making efforts to bring it to notice of the authorities concerned,” he said. who through his social Sankalp foundation carries out drain cleanliness drive and helping poor people.

Khewadiya is also a teerth purohit and social activist who runs the Sankalp Foundation to carry out cleanliness drive to clear drains and help needy.

He claims to have taken up development works in his ward on a large scale, ranging from regular cleaning of drains, sewer lines, installation of street lights, recarpeting of roads and safety walls alongside the Ganga canal. “I was instrumental in reopening and renovation of Sulabh toilet at Har-ki-Pauri near Kangra Ganga ghat, constructing safety wall at Kangra temple, Jogiya Mandi, at the cost of Rs 9 lakh, renovating ghat at Mamchand Haveli, constructing Kali Mata Mandir drainage system, laying of sewer line at Vanprasth Ashram among other works,” he boasts. “I have utilised maximum funds from the Municipal Corporation fund, legislator fund and parliamentarian fund (Rs 9 lakh) in my ward,” he adds.

Khewadiya said he had placed a resolution before the Municipal Corporation board meeting to ensure that all dead cows were cremated under the supervision of the Municipal Corporation employees, so that their skin and bone couldn’t be used for commercial purposes.