Ensure protocol for Ganges: Rajendra Singh

Concerned over the state of Ganges in the country, noted water conservationist Rajendra Singh on Tuesday demanded framing of a protocol for the holy river on the lines of the national flag.

The Ganges was declared national river in 2008 yet there is no protocol for it. This is the reason why people freely pollute it in various manners and still escape penal action, Rajendra Singh, the 2015 Stockholm Water Prize winner, told IANS here.

Rajendra Singh, here to participate in a workshop, said though people can be punished for insulting the national flag, no punishment is meted out to those who insult the Ganges or pollute it.

The 2,525-km Ganges has its origin in the western Himalayas in Uttrakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of north India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. Hindus revere the river and worship it as goddess Ganga.

--Indo-Asian New Service

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