Stop 'jal samadhi' to save Ganga: Shankaracharya

Hardwar, June 7 (UNI) Shankaracharya of the Jyotirpeeth of Badrinath, Vasudevanand Saraswati has said giving 'jal samadhi' to the deceased should be stopped to save the river Ganges from pollution.

Speaking to the newspersons yesterday, after addressing a meeting of the Sant community here the Shankaracharya said, ''the increasing pollution in the Ganga was a matter of grave concern and the Sant community should take an initiative to protect the holy river from pollution.'' ''Since the level of water in the holy river is going down, the self purifying capacity of the river is decreasing. The practice of giving jal samadhi to the dead Sants adds to the already increasing pollution of the holy river'', he added.

He further urged the Sant community not to immerse the residuals of 'havans' and other rituals in the Ganga.

He also demanded, the government should declare the Ganga as the national river.

He said, ''he was considering to call a meeting of all the Shankaracharyas and the representatives of all the akharas in September to discuss giving up the age old practices, which adversely affect the environment, including the purity of the rivers.

UNI XC AD VV1817