GANGA : From Rishikesh in Uttarakhand to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh
(SAMAJ WEEKLY)-
Vidya Bhushan Rawat
Dear Friend,
I am sharing this link on my Ganga journey from the plains of Uttarakhand to the ancient city of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The journey starts from Lakshaman Jhula in Rishikesh and then moves to Har Ki Pairi in Haridwar and give you a glimpse of its purity and energy till it is in Uttarakhand. The river enters in Uttar Pradesh via a village in district Bijnor. The first major railway bridge on Ganga happened to be at Balawali. The water level of the river is reduced drastically by the time it reaches Bijnor and there is absolute drought everywhere. From Bijnor to Garhmukteshwar, the journey is that of depleted water and more pollution. The fact is Ganga is more used for rituals in the plains of Uttar Pradesh than people bothering about its pollution. From Garh, as it is popularly known as, Ganga moves towards Central Uttar Pradesh and the fertile belt of Ruhail Khand via Moradabad, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur and Hardoi. At Hardoi, Ramganga, another himalayan river emerging from Uttarakhand and taking a parallel route, meets Ganga, at its border with district Kannauj, famous for ancient Indian emperors such as Harshvardhana and Jaichand. In Kannauj several small rivers too flow into Ganga and it moves towards Kanpur, the biggest city of Uttar Pradesh. Just 30 kilometer ahead of Kanpur is Bithoor, a historical town and Ganga looks like a river, full of water but it is because of a barrage about 7 kilometer down known as Kanpur Barrage. Afterwards, Ganga looks pale in front of what we saw in Bithoor. In Kanpur, the industrial and sewage waste flows into the river and continues to pollute it. Ganga form border between Kanpur and Unnao and moves towards Fatehpur and then to Prayagraj where it meets Yamuna to make the biggest Sangam. From Prayagraj, it moves towards Vindhyachal and passes through Grand Chunar Fort and enters Varanasi. The journey in Varanasi is equally fascinating as it is not merely an ancient city for Brahmanical rituals but also enlightenment of Lord Buddha, Saint Ravidas and Kabir. Two so called rivers too flows into Ganga in here namely, Assi Ganga and Varuna, highly polluted. Ganga moves towards Gazipur but on the way meets Gomti river at village Kaithi. At Ghazipur, we visit the tomb of Lord Cornwallis, a British Viceroy in 1805. Ganga forms the boundary between Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. It enters Bihar from Chausa and moves on.
Please spare your time to watch this journey of Ganga with me at this YouTube link
Thanking you and awaiting your responses.
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