Excelsior Correspondent
KATRA, July 2: Holy Ban Ganga at Katra, which is revered by the devotees and locals as sacred, has been virtually turned into a nallah where trash is flowing.
It is an important tributary of the Chenab river and flows through the Katra town. The river originates from the southern slope of the Shivalik range of the Himalayas.
It’s an important stop for Hindu devotees on the Mata Vaishno Devi pilgrimage, where many take bath before continuing their journey. For many, holy pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi means a dip in the Ban Ganga river also.
However, now a days, this holy river is full of wastes and no major initiative has been taken by the Shrine Board and Government agencies to clean the river. A pilgrim namely Bitto Sharma , said: “I am saying this with a very heavy heart that Ban Ganga is virtually dead. I have been going Bhawan from last 45 years and this is not the first time when the water looks like coming from drain.”
Another devotee, Raveesh, said: “I remember bathing in Ban Ganga every time we used to come to Vaishno Devi and I am very disappointed to see the dirty water. The river has mythological significance and eco-friendly steps should be taken to restore it.”
“The Ban Ganga river has been reduced to a two-metre wide drain, full of sludge, plastic and litter of pilgrims . If we go on polluting it, the river will be ruined and so will we,” he added.
Some pilgrims also raised concerns over ecological degradation on the Trikuta mountain range due to huge influx of Vaishno Devi pilgrims and alleged felling of trees, which directly affects the Ban Ganga river.
Locals alleged that brisk developmental activities on the 13-km track from the Katra base camp to the cave shrine have been posing an ecological threat to the Trikuta hills and the biggest challenge before the Board was to maintain the ecological balance.
They appealed Shrine Board as well as the Governor to take major initiative to clean Ban Ganga and feared that if emergency measures are not taken, the river would be dead soon.
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