New Delhi, Jan 19 (India Today) : The long-neglected issue of disposing dead bodies in the Ganga, a practice sanctioned by Hindu rituals, was brought to the notice of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday.

Over 3,000 human bodies are immersed into the holy river just in Varanasi, every year, for salvation. These corpses float by as daily prayers, bathing, cooking and washing go on unabated on the river ghats.

This puts innocent lives at risk besides creating a breeding ground for diseases and epidemic, it was pointed out to the environmental court.

The judicial bench, headed by chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar, called the practice "unfortunate" and also criticised the BJP-led central government saying, "Your slogans are very contrary to your actions." Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious 'Namami Gange' programme, `2,037 crore have been allocated to bring the Ganga back to its pristine state. Modi himself has in the past picked up the shovel to clean the ghats of Varanasi, his Lok Sabha constituency.

Recently, Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti had also inaugurated sewage treatment systems in Hapur district, Uttar Pradesh, to prevent the filth from being drained into the Ganga. The NGT also flayed the UP government for its negligence.

The issue was brought up as part of the ongoing petition of Anil Kumar Singhal, a water quality expert. Singhal has prayed that Ramganga, a significant tributary of Ganga, be freed of waste emanating from brass factories along UP's Moradabad. His counsel, Gaurav Bansal, on Monday, submitted pictorial evidence to NGT of bloated corpses on the river and vultures feeding on them. He argued that Ganga cannot be clean until this practice is banned.

Justice Kumar responded, "It is really very unfortunate that such things are going on. Why don't you do something about this?" He pulled up the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and also asked the UP government to deal with the issue expeditiously.
Counsel, Gaurav Bansal, said, "We have found that no less than 3,000 human bodies and 6,000 animal carcasses are dumped into the Ganga each year. These may have died of dangerous diseases and obviously carry pathogens, bacteria and virus which are contaminating the river. Those who come in contact with the water can fall seriously ill."

"There are also various Supreme Court directions for municipal corporations to stop this practice, but nothing is being done on the ground," he said. Petitioner Anil Singhal has submitted various reports to the tribunal to prove that the river is highly polluted.
The issue of dead bodies in Ganga last came into spotlight on January 14, 2015, when over 100 such corpses mysteriously washed up near Pariyar between Kanpur and Unnao. The district administration blamed it on the Hindu custom of not burning unmarried girls, children and people dying of snake bites.

The BJP accused the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) while SP leader Azam Khan said it was a conspiracy by the saffron party to defame it.