The declaration by our honorable PM Narendra Modi from the religious capital of India, Varanasi about 2 months ago put a spark in my mind to write this article. Modi, along the Ganges declare "Mother Ganga needs someone to take her out of the dirt and she's chosen me to do the work." These words stricked me a lot and motivated me to write this.
The name Varanasi derives from the names of two rivers, the 'Varuna' and the 'Asi'. The essence of the holy city is it's relationship with mother Ganga. The role of the city in Hindu mythology is quite outstanding. The life and activities in city is mainly depended on the holy river. The spiritual identity of Varanasi is due to the major shrine, the Vishwanatha temple. The city is thus called 'Kashi'.
From my friend who had lived in Varanasi about 5 years ago, I came to know a typical day in the city. As the morning rays hit the land, the people will rise and head to the Ganges along with their cows and buffaloes. The funeral processions will begin by 6 am leading to the ghats on the river. The streets are a blizzard of people, cow, goat, motor vehicles, cart haulers, bicycles, businessmen, other walkers and police and soldiers with no noticeable purpose. The holy men of Varanasi, Sadhus painted their face with holy symbols begin their meditation. They are leading a different life leaving home, family and all his attachments. The city which develops the Benaras Gharana, the form of Hindustani classical music wake up mainly by the 'saadakam' of musicians. The employers will be busy in doing their works and going to their work sites. The students will be rushing to the BHU or other institutions for their studies. Locals and their children spend much of their time on ghats, whether praying or working. Along the ghats, many children will be collecting plastic bottles. She also said that there is no other commercial activity on the ghats other than the sale of flowers and candles for pilgrims. Even at dawn, the sound of prayers and ringing bells accompany a high density of pilgrims.
From my friend who had lived in Varanasi about 5 years ago, I came to know a typical day in the city. As the morning rays hit the land, the people will rise and head to the Ganges along with their cows and buffaloes. The funeral processions will begin by 6 am leading to the ghats on the river. The streets are a blizzard of people, cow, goat, motor vehicles, cart haulers, bicycles, businessmen, other walkers and police and soldiers with no noticeable purpose. The holy men of Varanasi, Sadhus painted their face with holy symbols begin their meditation. They are leading a different life leaving home, family and all his attachments. The city which develops the Benaras Gharana, the form of Hindustani classical music wake up mainly by the 'saadakam' of musicians. The employers will be busy in doing their works and going to their work sites. The students will be rushing to the BHU or other institutions for their studies. Locals and their children spend much of their time on ghats, whether praying or working. Along the ghats, many children will be collecting plastic bottles. She also said that there is no other commercial activity on the ghats other than the sale of flowers and candles for pilgrims. Even at dawn, the sound of prayers and ringing bells accompany a high density of pilgrims.
The major crisis in Varanasi is that of the mother Ganga. Ganga is the soul of Varanasi. One of the sacred aspects of the Ganges is that Hindus believe that bathing in Ganges reduces a person's sins and bring him to moksha liberating him from the cycle of life, death and rebirth. Ganga is now facing a major threat due to the dumping of untreated sewage from around 33 outlets. The bacteria level currently in the river can cause diseases like typhoid, cholera and dysentery. Of the 8.3 billion litres of waste water generated everyday from around 222 towns in Ganges basin, 7 billion litres are directly discharged into the river. India has spent 111 billion rupees to clean Ganga since Ganga Action Plan I. Other major problem is that the river doesn't flow which stands as a serious threat to the aquatic life. Since the flood and landslides occurred last year bring a huge disaster to the entire Uttarakhand, studies about the status of dams are still going on. A survey on the water quality at Kalakankar (a village in Pratapgarh district in UP) revealed that even in an undisturbed place, the water is unsafe for drinking and bathing. Based on the level of coliform, the Ganges has been put in D category (having excessive pollution level). Presence of mercury has also detected. Thus, the bane showered on the Ganges by Lord Parvati seems to be true.
Modi promised that the river would be clean in 5 years. Hope he will definitely take up this challenging task as in the case of sabarmati river.
Another disaster is the traffic jam in the city. In NDTV news, I heard the plan of "ring roads" to ease the day-long traffic experienced due to a large number of vehicles passing through the city. It is mentioned in the news that by this plan, all vehicles going through the city will go around the city. This plan fix many traffic issues. But I think something can be done with old ideas also.
At present, one-way traffic is only maintained on some routes. Also, only a few roads have widened. This one-way system should be strictly implemented in all major routes within the city and also in the routes which connects Varanasi to Kolkata, Kanpur, Agra, Delhi, Gorakhpur, Jaunpur and Sultanpur. Flyovers can also be build to solve the traffic problem. Dividers can be set not only to avoid traffic but also to avoid accidents. Strict traffic monitoring system and high speed detecting cameras should be applied in such a dashing city. An intelligent transportation system is another good idea by which the people can check whether a vehicle is available to a route, how long it will take the vehicle to reach the source and how much time will take for the full journey.
Because of Modi's excellent execution skill backed by strong determination, I believe he will definitely get things done.
The next problem is with the ghats in Varanasi. Varanasi is mainly symbolized by the Ghats. Varanasis believe that the ghats are an optimal mash-up of life and death and these are the windows into Hindu mythology. But, currently these ghats have lost its divine nature and the presence of maa Ganga have left from these ghats. There is no sanitary facilities and garbage bins. Hence the wastes are left on the ghats itself. The waste formed by cremations also reduce the life of ghats. On 31st May 2014, there was a news on the proposal of 3 new ghats in Varanasi. This plan was put forward by the UP government without knowing Modi's plan to restore ghats. Thus Modi should develop great plans beyond everyone's imagination and expectation. He should act as an ardent champion in the current dharma kshetra.
Varanasi is not the city of IT professionals and posh people. Varanasi have only its mouldering ghats, palaces and temples. Modi's speech reveals that he is a person with a vision and innovation.I strongly believe that his approach in making quick decisions and implementing those plans will form the corner stone of his style of administration. Thus varanasis believe that Modi waves will reach their coast and will rejuvenate the sanctified 'leader city' of India.
Another disaster is the traffic jam in the city. In NDTV news, I heard the plan of "ring roads" to ease the day-long traffic experienced due to a large number of vehicles passing through the city. It is mentioned in the news that by this plan, all vehicles going through the city will go around the city. This plan fix many traffic issues. But I think something can be done with old ideas also.
At present, one-way traffic is only maintained on some routes. Also, only a few roads have widened. This one-way system should be strictly implemented in all major routes within the city and also in the routes which connects Varanasi to Kolkata, Kanpur, Agra, Delhi, Gorakhpur, Jaunpur and Sultanpur. Flyovers can also be build to solve the traffic problem. Dividers can be set not only to avoid traffic but also to avoid accidents. Strict traffic monitoring system and high speed detecting cameras should be applied in such a dashing city. An intelligent transportation system is another good idea by which the people can check whether a vehicle is available to a route, how long it will take the vehicle to reach the source and how much time will take for the full journey.
Because of Modi's excellent execution skill backed by strong determination, I believe he will definitely get things done.
The next problem is with the ghats in Varanasi. Varanasi is mainly symbolized by the Ghats. Varanasis believe that the ghats are an optimal mash-up of life and death and these are the windows into Hindu mythology. But, currently these ghats have lost its divine nature and the presence of maa Ganga have left from these ghats. There is no sanitary facilities and garbage bins. Hence the wastes are left on the ghats itself. The waste formed by cremations also reduce the life of ghats. On 31st May 2014, there was a news on the proposal of 3 new ghats in Varanasi. This plan was put forward by the UP government without knowing Modi's plan to restore ghats. Thus Modi should develop great plans beyond everyone's imagination and expectation. He should act as an ardent champion in the current dharma kshetra.
Varanasi is not the city of IT professionals and posh people. Varanasi have only its mouldering ghats, palaces and temples. Modi's speech reveals that he is a person with a vision and innovation.I strongly believe that his approach in making quick decisions and implementing those plans will form the corner stone of his style of administration. Thus varanasis believe that Modi waves will reach their coast and will rejuvenate the sanctified 'leader city' of India.
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