Activists clean ghats across India

Thousands of activists got together to clean an estimated 8,500 ghats along over 20 rivers across India on Tuesday, said a spiritual group based here.

"From 8 a.m. to 12 noon, everyone converged on the ghats and cleaned them," a spokesperson for Gayatri Pariwar said.

About 500 of the ghats were located along the Ganga in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal, he said.

"Our aim was to raise awareness regarding pollution," the spokesperson told IANS. "We explained to people the importance of keeping the ghats on the rivers clean."

Some of the other rivers where the cleaning campaign took place were the Yamuna (Delhi and Mathura), Tapti and Narmada (Madhya Pradesh) and Gomti (Lucknow), he said.

In Haridwar, activists also took out a rally. Human chains were formed in several other places to raise awareness among people.

The Gayatri Pariwar has been engaged in cleaning ghats on the Ganga since 2013. Seventy-five ghats were cleaned in Haridwar alone on Tuesday.

--IANS

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