Rising levels of pollution in the holy river of Balganga, located near the sacred shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi in Katra, have become a cause of concern.
For many, a holy pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi means a dip in the Ban Ganga river, which meanders around the holy shrine, but pollution and lower water level in the river somehow degrades the essence of the very shrine.
With each passing day, the condition of the river is turning dismal as the water from the sewage directly gets mixed with the river water, owing to which the majority of the fishes which find abode in the river are choked to death.
The river has a mythological significance. According to Hindu mythology, when the demon Bhairon Nath chased goddess Vaishnavi, she ran towards the Trikuta hill, and on the way, she felt thirsty and shot an arrow into the ground, and the river was formed.
The concerned authorities have taken no major step yet though various cleanliness drives have been launched. One of the drives was organised by a Katra based organisation, ” Being Indian Patriot”, under the name of “Cleanliness of Banganga”.
The UT administration and concerned authorities are requested to take stock of the situation and initiate the required cleanliness programs to restore the holy river’s rapidly degrading
