SP leader questions ancient significance of Har-ki-Pauri

Tribune News Service

Haridwar, February 26

State Samajwadi Party (SP) secretary Durgesh Pratap Singh has questioned the special religious, spiritual and historical significance attached to Brahma Kund, Har-ki-Pauri, in Haridwar.

Durgesh, while addressing mediapersons here today, said the Ganga Sabha and local teerth purohits should first clarify that whether Har-ki-Pauri is at the main Ganga stream or it is at the Ganga Canal built by the British.

He said the British had built Har-ki-Pauri and Lord Dalhousie had constructed the first phase of the Ganga canal in 1820. “Before 1820 there was no Ganga ghat and Brahma Kund was spread from the present place till Neel Dhara. The British built the Ganga canal for irrigation purposes on which a majority of Ganga ghats of Haridwar, including Har-ki-Pauri, are situated,” added Durgesh.

He expressed concern at ash immersion at Har-ki-Pauri when the Sati Ghat at Kankhal was earmarked for the purpose. “Ashes are immersed at Har-ki-Pauri. Doesn’t it pollute the Ganga. At present hundreds of toilets have been constructed in the Kumbh mela zone, which will also affect the purity of the river. If the Uttar Pradesh government wants to construct Shiv-ki-Pauri on the lines of Har-ki-Pauri, the Ganga Sabha, teerth purohits, pandas and local traders oppose it. Now, they all seem to be mute spectators to pollution of the Ganga,” he said.

Tauffiq Ahmed, senior party leader, said it was for the first time in Haridwar that Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Minister Shiv Pal Singh Yadav inaugurated projects worth hundreds of crores of rupees but some people deliberately made an issue of the Shiv-ki-Pauri project, which in fact was only a ghat to be named as Shiv Ghat.

Ganga Sabha general secretary Ram Kumar Mishra said questioning the authenticity of Har-ki-Pauri was not acceptable as millions of people take a dip in the Ganga here throughout the year. He added Brahma Kund had been in existence for ages as is mentioned in ancient scriptures. Kumbh and Ardh Kumbh were held every six years alternatively at this place for centuries and the state government and the mela administration had its documented records.