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Save Yamuna to save Braj mandal

We all know that all great civilisations in the world developed along river banks. The rivers have been sustaining life in its various manifestations and glory. The importance of rivers in India can be understood by one simple fact that almost all rivers are worshipped as goddesses.

Yamuna, the consort of Sri Krishna has played a significant role in shaping the history of India right from the days of the Mahabharat till today. An interesting fact about Yamuna is that it has a richer history and a valuable contribution to enriching culture, art, architecture and commerce, compared to river Ganga.

For a majority of people in India while Ganga is Moksh dayini, and therefore all death related rites are conducted along its banks from Haridwar to Varnasi. The ashes and bones of the dead are released into the Ganga to ensure a safe passage to the other world.

Yamuna on the other hand is Jeevan Dayini. Along its banks flourished history, politics, trade, culture and the Vaishnavite Sri Krishna- Radha bhakti movement.

Starting in Uttarkashi district in the Himalayas from Yamunotri glacier, it enters Dehradoon, flows close to Jagdhari and Yamuna Nagar in Himachal, separates UP and Haryana, enters Saharanpur in UP, touches Kurukshetra, Karnal,Sonipat, and the famous battleground of Panipat. The epic Mahabharata was written on its bank, Saint Parasher and Satyawati gave birth to Ved Vyas, Raja Bharat and the father of Bhisma Shantanu organized great Yagnas, and for thousands of years great saints and thinkers lived in ashrams along the Yamuna banks.

Leaving Haryana and UP the river enters Delhi which for 2000 years has been the seat of power and politics. The Mughals and later the British built dozens of monuments and forts. The river once again enters Haryana and three of its big industrial clusters, Ballabhgarh, Faridabad and Palwal depend on its water.

Once it enters UP, the river’s profile changes as a whole mythology is woven around the Yamuna. Sri Krishna lore would be incomplete without the river. From Vrindavan to Bateshwar in Agra district, it is Sri Krishna and Radha and their leelas that sustain literature, culture, faith and philosophy.

Ballabhacharya, the blind bard of Braj Bhasha Soor Das, the mediaval Bhakti movement and the Meera tradition blossomed along the Yamuna banks. As the river leaves Mathura it enters the famous Renuka Dham. Renuka was the mother of Bhagwan Parshu Ram. A little distance away the river suddenly takes an eastern turn as it enters Agra, the capital of the Mughals. The river is now joined by half a dozen other smaller rivers like Parvati, Khari, Utangan, Gambhir. Beyond Agra rivers Betwa and Chambal merge into Yamuna which eventually joins Ganga in Allahabad.

The purpose of this historical perspective is to make you aware of the great contribution and heritage role of river Yamuna. You should feel proud of living along its banks. No other river in the world has a richer history, culture or religious significance and as the sister of Yamraj, the god of death, its star status in Indian mythological tradition is permanently etched.

Yamuna finds mention in Rig Veda, the founder of the Mughal dynasty Babar was lyrical about the quality of Yamuna water confirmed by medieval historians and foreign travelers. Both Abul Fazal and Lahauri have written extensively about the Yamuna water.

It was the Yamuna water that compelled Shah Jahan to build his dream monument the Taj Mahal along its bank. Pandit Jagannath, wrote the famous Ganga Lahri. But in praise of Yamuna he wrote the Amrit Lahri, such was the quality of its water.

But what of today? How do we describe Yamuna today? A sewage canal, a drain, a big gutter, a civilisational sink? From the life giving Amrit to death dispensing poison, has been the cruel tale of this river which even in its dying stages is sustaining the life of millions of people.

In the past 25 years government agencies have spent over Rs.8 billion to clean up many Indian rivers. But even the latest report of the Ministry of Environment and Forests candidly admits that both the great rivers of India: the Ganga and the Yamuna continue to flow dirty.

The funds have been spent on cleaning the drains that lead to the rivers, by putting in sewage treatment plants (STPs) and the sanitation facilities. Unfortunately we do not see any improvement in the overall situation. The pollution load continues to increase.

To quote a government committee "the quality of water in the Yamuna river has not shown the desired improvement, particularly in Delhi, due to enormous increase in pollution load and lack of fresh water in the river during (the) lean period. Due to ever-increasing population, leading to increased pollution load, and gap in the availability of Plan Outlay (lack of money), there is persistent divergence between the pollution load tackled and the actual pollution load."

No proof about the poor quality of Yamuna water, generally unfit for human consumption between Delhi and Agra was ever required but when lakhs of fish continued to die at regular intervals both in Agra and Mathura, it is natural for alarm bells to ring.

A report of a sample tested by an American scientist has confirmed the presence of hydrocarbons in the river water. Rivrs of the World Foundation chairman Dr Subijoy Dutta first reported presence of hydrocarbons near Sikandra water works in Agra, way back in March 2001, the local authorities had scoffed at the suggestion calling it a figment of imagination. Even the Mathura Refinery had then vehemently denied release of untreated effluents that could have been the source of hydrocarbons which doctors say are cancer causing.

The city of the Taj is heavily dependent on Yamuna raw water, but unfortunately despite a series of ambitious schemes and the direct intervention of the Supreme Court the government agencies have dismally failed to prevent pollution of the river.

The Yamuna as it meanders through Delhi over a 48 km stretch picks up huge quantities of chemical wastes and toxins as also more than 225 million gallons of untreated sewage every day before leaving Delhi. When it enters Agra, the river is overloaded with additional discharges from industrial clusters in Faridabad, Ballabhgarh, Palwal and Mathura. What the people in Agra get to drink can not be called water by any stretch of imagination, according to a number of research studies including the one by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

Sadly the State Pollution Control Board and the Central Pollution Control Board have failed to address the problem of water pollution in the river. All the directives of the Supreme Court have been flagrantly ignored. The central air and water pollution prevention Act gives unrestricted powers to these statutory bodies to proceed against polluters but the corrupt officials have never been sensitive to the gravity of the problem.

Indeed when the devouts enter the Yamuna for a ritualistic dip and “achman” on festivals, they never fail to have “sakshat darshan” of Kali Naag in the form of pollution that has reached an alarming level.

At several points the water is jet black with a thick layer of waste floating on the surface. River Yamuna, is integral to the Vaishnavaites who worship Krishna, says Pandit Hari Prasad Sharma, a renowned scholar of the sect. “Right fromVrindavan, as the river enters the Braj area, Yamuna continues to be polluted by industries and nullahs (open drains) on which there is no control. The religious sentiments of the millions have no value for the government agencies,” he adds.

Environmentalists in Agra have filed law suits against dozens of government officials, under relevant sections of the Air and Water Pollution Act of 1974. The state pollution control board officials routinely send out warnings to the polluters but have never summoned the courage to proceed against them.

“Elsewhere, pollution of this fatal nature would have been treated as a criminal offence against humanity and those responsible for it would have had to pay a heavy price for their acts but in India people are seemingly becoming immune to pollution and their sensibilities have also been insensitised,” say the river activists.

The CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) monitors the water quality of the Yamuna in Delhi, and it is graded in the severely polluted category, fit only for recreation, aesthetics, and industrial cooling. According to the CPCB, 70% of the pollution in rivers is from untreated sewage. The remaining 30% is from industrial source, agricultural run-off, garbage, etc.

According to an estimate 70 percent of India's total surface waters are polluted. Out of India's 3, 119 towns and cities, only 217 have even partial sewage treatment facilities. The direct discharge of the untreated sewage in the surface water course is one of the major causes of high biochemical oxygen demand in most streams of rivers of India.

The 48- kilometre stretch of the Yamuna river that flows through Delhi contains 7,500 coliform bacteria per 100cc of water. Yamuna receives an estimated 600 million gallons of untreated sewage every day from the greater Delhi area and leaves New Delhi carrying an inconceivable 24 million coliform organisms per 100cc . The same stretch of the river picks up 5 million gallons of industrial effluents including about 125,000 gallons of DDT wastes every day.

What can be done?

As ordinary law abiding citizens we often feel helpless. River cleaning is not a priority item on the national agenda. Although a large number of NGOs, pressure groups, eco-clubs, citizens movements, have been active and have been doing their bit to clean up the Yamuna, but given the size and dimension of the problem, these piecemeal and sporadic efforts can not yield any tangible benefits.

Some years ago, we realized that the people of Agra had completely forgotten there was a river in the city. Till the 1970s, the Yamuna banks were centres of cultural and religious activities. During the 1975 emergency, pakka ghats and temples were razed to the ground to make way for a river front like the Mumbai chowpaati. That never happened, and what we were left with was a vast stretch of waste land debris piled up. Yamuna’s degeneration in a way synchronises with the political decadence that set in after 1980.

A citizen’s initiative was launched by concerned citizens in April 2015, we called it River Connect Campaign. The idea was to bring people back to the river and sensitise them. With this objective in mind we began the daily Yamuna Arti sabha on a piece of wasteland which we cleaned up and named it Etmauddaula view point park. Now more than a thousand

days old, this campaign has worked both politically as a pressure group and socially to create a higher level of awareness by involving all sections of people in river related activities.

Our primary focus was on a barrage downstream of the Taj Mahal, guarantee of minimum flow of 50 cumex of water round the year. We are now trying to get the parliament adopt a national rivers policy with a central rivers authority.

Also, some of us feel the armed forces can help us in launching one of the biggest clean up operations. They have the trained manpower and equipment. If they can lend a helping hand, groups of citizens would come forward for Kaar Sewa to clean up the river bed.

As the country’s most disciplined and efficiently managed organization, the cooperation of the armed forces should be sought and the citizens should participate in a joint operation. They have the resources, the technology and a commitment. War against river pollution is what we need to launch immediately. At the same time the laws relating to water pollution need to be given teeth and implemented rigourously.

To you all I would only say that you should feel proud of your river heritage. Love the river, go to the ghats and spend time there. Take pride in your history and culture.

Mathura Churns Out Fashionable Dresses For Sri Krishna

If humans love their fashion, so do the Hindu gods, particularly Sri Krishna, perhaps Hinduism’s most popular divnity, who needs ever new costumes with dazzling colours and attractive patterns.

A few years ago, there was a furore when an over-enthusiastic priest donned Sri Krishna, the presiding deity of Vrindavan, in jeans, a check shirt, a hat and goggles. Describing this as an aberration, the priest was removed, but the urge to dress up "Thakur-ji" in the latest that is available in the market sustains the thriving "poshak (clothing for a deity) industry" of Mathura-Vrindavan.

Ahead of the Sri Krishna Janmashtmi (birthday) on Saturday, big showrooms and shopkeepers in Mathura and Vrindavan are witnessing brisk sale of poshaks, particularly for Radha and Krishna, as also Laddo Gopal and Saligram.

"We have moved a long way from the conventional one-piece poshak of routine material. Creative minds have now introduced an array of colourful costumes, studded with precious stones, exquisite embroidery and glittering strips of expensive 'gota' (embroidery using applique technique)," said Deepak Parikh, a shopkeeper of Mathura.

Also being sold are dazzling showpieces, decorative items, bansuries (flutes), remote-controlled toys for the little Shri Krishna and dazzling hindolas and jhulas (swings).

Mathura, in the past few years, has emerged as the country's main hub for poshaks and related knick-knacks.

The industry engages hundreds of skilled Hindu and Muslim workers who produce the dresses and decorative items at their homes or in units set up by big showrooms.

"The dresses are being couriered daily to dozens of foreign countries, for Sri Krishna temples and individuals. The poshaks are also sold in Nathdwara (in Rajasthan), but the chief manufacturing centre is Mathura-Vrindavan," Man Mohan Sharma, a wholesaler, told IANS. The main buyers are in the US, Britain, Russia, Australia, Mauritius and wherever Hindus are settled.

While the Muslim workers specialise in embroidery, intricate needlework and zardozi (sewing with gold string), Hindus do the sewing and stitching of the dresses, weaving attractive patterns and curls that catch the eye. It has become a round-the-year business.

"Each season the dresses change, the materials used change. For winter, we have to provide sweaters, caps and socks while in summer it's the light shades of cotton and satin," Sharma added.

Dresses with decorative material, a wide range of garlands, stone-studded necklaces, ornaments, bansuris and sinhasan (thrones) for the deities, umbrellas, cows and birds are in great demand.

"Pilgrims from all over India visit Braj Bhoomi; when they return they buy the colourful dresses for their deities," Sharma said, adding that right now, because of the Janmashtmi festival pressure, the skilled workers and shopkeepers are overloaded with demand and are working overtime.

The craftsmen give a glittering look to the basic dresses at Vrindavan but Pappu Bhai one such individual who has been working for over 30 years, lamented that the state government had some years ago issued identity cards but nothing else was done to help improve their economics.

Many skilled workers suffer from eye problems, working long hours on zardozi, said many of them, complaining that they got only around Rs.400 a day. If there was demand pressure, they could make Rs.50 to Rs.100 extra per hour.

The Pro Poor Tourism project of the World Bank has included this sector for promotion in a big way. Arrangements are likely to be made soon for opening an exclusive market run by the producers themselves so that the profits are passed on to actual production units.

While the skilled workers, for all their hard work and creativity, get peanuts as earnings, it's the big sharks with a chain of outlets and the middlemen who arrange for raw materials and marketing of finished products who make the big bucks, many craftsmen complained.

"But the market is growing and new avenues are opening up, which promise to benefit the workers too," Ladli Mohan, a shopkeeper of Vrindavan, said.

SPARE A THOUGHT FOR SRI KRISHNA'S BRAJ BHOOMI THIS JANAMASHTMI

Ahead of Sri Krishna Janamashtmi celebrations beginning Saturday, security has been beefed and elaborate traffic arrangements made to ensure smooth flow of pilgrims and their vehicles.

Temples in Mathura are all geared up for the 5242nd birthday of Sri Krishna, amidst a rising crescendo of bhakti and devotional fervour.

From Goverdhan to Gokul on the other side of river Yamuna, the mood is upbeat with thousands of pilgrims making a beeline for darshan of the deities.

The barricadings and bunkers around the Sri Krishna Janam Bhoomi in Mathura remain ugly eyesores and the thorough screening of pilgrims by security personnel an irritant, but the devotees are taking all these obstacles as manifestations of their "sins." Nothing more.

In recent years, the Krishna lore with its accent on love and bhakti has drawn lakhs of new followers who lovingly bear all the physical discomforts in Braj area, many going through the 20 kms parikrama in Goverdhan without any visible signs of stress or agony at the sorry spectacles of ubiquitous heaps of dirt and garbage, the dirty bylanes of Vrindavan and the constant pestering by hundreds of beggars. The devouts ungrudgingly take achman of Yamuna water and feel "dhanya," at Mathura's Vishram Ghat while cynics count the number of bacterias in one cupful of highly polluted Yamuna water.

Sri Krishna legend will gain further momentum as people get sick of both poverty and prosperity, says a local guru Hari Mohan. i. Mankind can survive only on love and compassion, without distinctions of caste or status. Sri Krishna's life epitomises what is best for society. "One has to only look beyond the symbolism in all his leelas and the message would be there loud and clear,"

Among the several religious circuits developed by the state government, the Braj circuit remains the most popualr and the most under-developed. While land grabbers have annexed every bit of prime property in Mathura, Vrindavan and other smaller towns in the circuit, the infrastructural facilities are sadly underdeveloped. The road from the national highway to Vrindavan has imposing edifices by both the new age gurus and the corporates, plus the film stars. The parikrama route in Goverdhan is being usurped by colonisers to build multi-storeyed buildings for the wealthy pilgrims.

With ever increasing human settlements and influx from outside, the sensitive ecology of the area is under threat. “The thick forest that once enveloped the holi Goverdhan parbat has disappeared and slowly we find colonies and land developers acquiring land for building residential accommodations for pilgrims and retired people.”

The same trend of frentic housebuilding activity is eating up all the green cover and open spaces in Vrindavan which has more high- rise buildings and apartments than the district headquarter Mathura. “Where is the space for greenery and a pollution free ambience, for which Sri Krishna killed the poisonous Kaaliya Nag in Yamuna River, asks Braj Bachao Samiti's Manoj Choudhary.

Each year millions of people visit the Braj area for Parikrama of the holy Goverdhan hill which Sri Krishna is believed to have lifted on his little finger to protect the Brajwasis from the ire of Indra. The hills in Barsana, Nandgaon bear imprints of Radha and Krishna.

But sadly the district authorities of Mathura and Bharatpur have not been alert to the large scale devastation and interference by land mafias, says journalist Vineet Narain whose Braj Foundation is currently busy restoring old ponds and resurrecting sacred groves associated with the leelas of Krishna and Radha.

Says Vineet Narain: “as Braj falls within the golden triangle of Delhi, Jaipur and Agra the whole area can be developed as a happening eco- tourism destination. In the backdrop of these hills Braj can offer a wonderful experience with its rich culture and vast heritage. The Irony is that by paying peanuts as revenue the mine mafia is taking away a huge chunk of stone from the region and thus causing irreparable damage to the ecology.”

Bollywood Cacophony Replaces Temple Music

Sri Krishna temples in Mathura/Vrindavan were once a repository of rich musical traditions, but today strains of melifluous classical "Dhrupad" or "Dhamar" no longer reverberate from the courtyards of these hallowed 'islands of faith' that draw millions of devouts round the year.

A week before Sri Krishna Janamashtmi temples would be drawing lots of musicians and singers holding a descernible audience captive with divine music, but not so, as the huge crowd that invades main temples like Bankey Bihari or Dwarkadheesh has neither the patience nor the ear, lamented Gopi Krishan Sharma. .

Prem Das Baba said only three or four temples in Vrindavan like Nikunj Dham, Tatiya Sthaan continue with the practice but most other temples have long ago given up this tradition.

It is the cacaphony of loud speakers and decks that deafens sanity and good taste, as you head for one of these numerous temples in Vrindavan. Huge boxes are seen blaring spurious folk music mimicking Bollywood tunes, according to Deepak Krishan Shastri.

"You only have the ubiquitous loud-speakers blaring round the clock spurious Braj folk music, mimicking Bollywood tunes and vulgarly gyrating to despicable titillating beats. The pristine purity of 'Haveli Sangeet' has vanished. It's just cacaphonous noise all around," a pakhawaj player Krishna Gopal said in Vrindavan.

"Remember, Sri Krishna was a perfect avatar with 16 'kalas' (performing arts) and a great penchant for music. His flute had the power to mesmerise not just humans but the elements too," he said.

Ratnambara, a research scholar on musical traditions of Braj, said: "Swami Hari Das began the musical tradition but in the famous Bankey Bihari temple itself, 'sangeet' has vanished. Nimbkacharya and Radha Ballabh sects do have 'Samaj Gayan' on special occasions, but generally the temple musical traditions are on the decline."

Geetanjali, a music lover from Mathura, feels: "The 'Haveli Sangeet' tradition has virtually been eclipsed by 'filmi bhajans' on CDs. Listening to a great exponent of 'Haveli Sangeet' or 'Dhrupad', the effect is sublime, and you feel transported into another world," she feels .

"In Vrindavan you only hear vehicle-music these days. Hordes of touch and go type pilgrims come for a long drive via the Yamuna Expressway, have a darshan, savour some chaat and gulp down lassi ka kulhad, and zoom back home...Who has the time for leisurely classical music. The tabla or mridang players have opened tea stalls or photo-copier shops here," lamented a music teacher Adarsh Swami.

"Hardly any temple in Braj promotes 'Haveli Sangeet', though a few temples in Gujarat have managed to save this rich heritage of Braj, developed by Ballabhacharya and later Sur Das and Asht-Kavis of the Pushtiya Marg tradition of Vaishanavism," said culture critic Ashok Bansal in Mathura.

Satya Bhan Sharma, one of the last exponents of 'Haveli Sangeet', says: "The tradition which was nurtured and flourished in the temples of Sri Krishna-Radha of the Vaishnavites, is no longer popular even in the temples. Only a few temples in Vrindavan, Nathdwara have musicians versatile in this form."

Temple music in the Braj area evolved as a long line of Vaishnav saints nurtured and promoted it. "Before each darshan of the deity, musicians and singers presented classical numbers and devotional dhuns, Manjul Vats said.

"Some exponents feel Haveli music has an edge over 'Dhrupad-Dhamar' gayaki for its rich 'bhakti' (devotional) content and direct communication with Sri Krishna."

"In Barsana, Vrindavan and some temples of Gujarat, one can still experience the heavenly soul-touching strains of this form of music," explains a tabla player Mohan.

But of late, the classical musical traditions have virtually disappeared.

Vrindavan's music maestro Acharya Tringunaneet Jaimini says: "Adulterated music branded as experimental music is proving to be a grave threat to the classical Indian musical traditions."

"Bollywood has undoubtedly helped promote and sustain interest in all forms of music for decades and Akashvani did nurture the classical traditions for a long time, but in recent years, we see a marked decline in the quality of the output."

"The so-called experimental music, as in fusion and other variants, is playing havoc and so is the spurious mixing culture," Jaimini adds.

However, not all agree with this generalisation.

"Modern music with all its interesting variety and flavours is the way to go ahead. It's wrong to label it spurious. What is music to one's ears may be cacaphony to others," argues a young pop music fan Avni Srotriya. .

"The younger generation with its changing perceptions, values and the new demands and pressures in a globalised scenario has little patience for 'sadhna' and 'riyaz' that classical music requires, given its spiritual predilections," she adds.

Little wonder the older "guru-shishya parampara" (teacher-disciple tradition) style of singing and dancing are no longer in favour. The "gharana" tradition is on the wane.

"In the Braj region, we had two distinct streams - the Agra Gharana and the celebrated Haveli Sangeet. Both are losing patrons," said Jyoti, director of Nritya Jyoti Kathak Kendra.

NGT WARNS TOUGH ACTION AGAINST VRINDAVAN LOCAL BODY

The National Green Tribunal has warned the Vrindavan local body to come out clean on how it was disposing of its solid waste in the holy town.

Sharing details of the NGT order, the petitioner Madhu Mangal Shukla, a river activist, said he had complained of illegal and unregulated solid waste disposal by the local municipality. Substantial part of the waste was being dumped on the river bed. "Despite repeated requests the local officials had failed to develop a trenching site and littering away just about everywhere the waste produced by the people," Shukla told TOI.

In its order dated August 25, the NGT has asked the petitioner to shoot pictures and video of the work done by the local safai karamcharis and the garbage dumps to nail the truth. Shukla said he would be submitting photographs and videos of the garbage heaps on the river bed. He said the local officials had misled the NGT and allegedly submitted false evidence.

Last month the NGT had restrained the municipality from burning domestic waste and piling it up on the river bank.

The bench headed by justice Swatantra Kumar said "we make it clear that if we find the statement of the executive officer incorrect, we will be compelled to take appropriate action against them."

In his petition Shukla has alleged that the ambience of Vrindavan was being messed up as there was no clear action plan on how to dispose of solid waste. "They were dumping it everywhere and burning garbage when it suited them," he said. The river bank was particularly affected as drains were clogged and river water polluted coming in contact with waste at Tatiya Sthan, Kalidah, Shringarvat among others.

Locals have regularly been complaining how garbage was being dumped to push the river several hundred feet back. In course of time encroachers begin raising structures on the Yamuna flood-plains.

The petitioner has highlighted how the holy town with over 5000 temples was being subjected to environmental deterioration. Already the green cover has been denuded and big chunks of land along the river banks have turned grey with new concrete structures.

The civic body's crisis is compounded by lack of a full time Excutive Officer for the municipality. "The person who is looking after Vrindavan is in charge of three other local bodies. He doesn't have the time. Vrindavan needs a full time official as the problems are becoming complex and the size of the population growing," said Friends of Vrindavan convener Jagan Nath Poddar.

Uma Bharti Promises Early Action On Yamuna Pollution

Union minister for water resources Uma Bharti today said a " pollution-free Yamuna is a commitment of our government and we will do whatever is required to rejuvenate both Ganges and Yamuna."

Uma Bharti was interacting with reporters after a darshan of the Bankey Bihari Sunday.

She said a committee of the UP, Haryana and Delhi government representatives will draw up a comprehensive plan for cleaning Yamuna and a minimal flow as desired by the National Green Tribunal in the river shall be maintained.

She said the NGT orders on encroachments on the flood-plains of the Yamuna shall be strictly enforced.

The demands and concerns of the people of Braj Mandal to cleanse Yamuna shall not remain unheard, she assured.

A YAMUNA RIVER BASIN COMMISSION IS THE ONLY SOLUTION TO YAMUNA'S PROBLEMS

River activists and Yamuna bhakts have demanded that the union government set up an empowered Commission to promote and restore the health of the River Yamuna through a River Basin Management Plan, and approach the initiative of river conservation with a more integrated approach at a national level.

Members of the Friends of Vrindavan, Braj Bachao Samiti, Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society, Braj Vrindavan Heritage Alliance, at a recent meeting said a comprehensive and integrated strategy was called for addressing the problems of Yamuna river which is the life line of Braj Mandal, the leela bhoomi of Sri Krishna and Radha.

Activists said the proposed commission shall regulate, monitor and draw up future urban policies for the river banks. A permanent institution armed with legal powers, alone can solve the problems and decide future course of action to to ensure the health of the river. Committees and tribunals constituted in the past have failed to address the problems which can only assume serious dimensions in the future in view of growing demand for water and land. The commission should comprise social activists, river activists, experts, members of the judiciary and representatives of different national parties, alongwith government fuctionaries.

The jurisdiction of the Commision should extend to the Yamuna River Basin States of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Convener of Friends of Vrindavan Jagan Nath Poddar said 'Basin' would be the area of land drained by the Yamuna river and its tributaries including the source, watershed, catchment area, confluence, etc. Yamuna being a perennial river it should have water flowing round the year with a minimum flow. Industrial pollution and sewage discharge from urban clusters have contaminated the water of the river. "Therefore pollution abatement activities have to be promoted or undertaken to reduce or control the effluents and toxic substances," said activist Shravan Kumar Singh.

Young industrialist Anurag Goyal said the local offices of the proposed commission should be established in all the districts through which Yamuna flows. Activists Tamal Krishna Das, Daan Bihari Sharma said the Commission should have its own river police force. Already the Allahabad High Court has directed the Mathura district administration to form river police squads to patrol the river banks and book polluters.

In a resolution, the members said the problems of Yamuna and its tributaries have long been hanging fire and successive governments at the centre and the state have failed to come up with a fool-proof mechanism and strategy to restore Yamuna to its past glory. The Yamuna is not just a water body but a living cultural, heritage and religious entity with which the emotional bonds of millions of Sri Krishna bhakts are bonded.

Ad hoc orders and directives of the National Green Tribunal and the state High Court have not been able to prevent further degradation of ecology of the Braj region. A permanent plan with a long term perspective is the need of the hour, said Surendra Sharma of the River Connect Campaign.

Deities of different temples here have joined hands to conserve the rich heritage of Vrindavan and work to restore the original glory of the Sri Krishna land.

In a unique initiative priests and mukhiyas representing the presiding deities in the holy town today formed a federation of temples to voice the concerns and have an effective say in the policies being drafted for the Vrindavan Dhaam. The alarming trend of playing with the ecology in the name of development and de-culturising the Braj bhoomi with a spurious variant has brought together stake-holders to form the new entity called Sri Vrindavan Devalaya Sangh.

More than two dozen Sevaits and their representatives from different temples of Vrindavan gathered in the Siddha Pitha Imli Tala Mandir to lay the foundation of the Temple Federation.

Acharya Shrivatsa Goswami, the sevait of Shri Radha Raman Temple will head the body till an elected body is formed. The meeting unanimously resolved to include all the temples of Vrindavan in the federation to make it all inclusive and effective.

The 'sevaits' expressed their discontent and frustration with efforts being made to play with the ecology of Vrindavan and adulterate the spiritual wealth. They said that it was high time for the temples to join hands to protect the culture of the holy abode of the 'Divine Couple' Sri Krishna-Radha.

"The temples are the biggest stakeholders of Vrindavan and they should be consulted when the developmental projects are formulated," said Acharya Krishna Gopalananda Dev Goswami of Thakur Radha Shyam Sundar Mandir. Baba Ladli Sharan Das said, "The Vraja raj (holy dust) of Vrindavan must be preserved by preventing further concretization of the Holy Dham of Vrindavan." "We can't imagine of Vrindavan, without the trees. Let more trees be planted and the old ones be protected," added Baba Ladli Sharan representing the Tatiasthan.

Shri Govardhan Sharan Das, representing Shri Ji Mandir advocated for unified action against the Yamuna pollution. "Yamuna is the lifeline of Vrindavan. All the rituals in the temples were conducted with the Yamuna water. But it has become impossible to use the polluted water in the activities of the temples," said Shri Govardhan Sharan. Shri Kanika Prasad Goswami and Shri Krishna Balaram Goswami from Radha Damodar Temple echoed the voice of Shri Govardhan Sharan Das on the Yamuna Pollution.

Acharya Shri Gopinath Lal Dev Goswami, sevait of Shri Radha Gopinath Temple drew everyone's attention on the issue of meat being sold in the town. "The illegal meat shops are the real threat to the sanctity of Vrindavan. We should immediately write to the government about it and take legal actions against those who are selling the non vegetarian food here," said Shri Goswami.

The representatives from Shri Girindra Bihari Mandir, Shri Meera Bai Mandir, Shri Radha Nayananda Mandir, Imli Tala Siddha Peeth, Radha Gokulananda Mandir, Radha Madan Mohan Mandir etc. participated in the foundation meeting of the Temple Federation.

A Special Institution For Challenged Children Opens In Vrindavan

For parents of special needs children in holy city of Vrindavan , the start of this school year has taken on a new meaning: an end to the conflicts, struggles and disappointment with the costly private schools in metropolitan cities who used to charge heavy fees from helpless parents who had to bow to the pressures of private schools in the absence of any viable alternative in their own localities .

A growing number of parents of special-needs children are opting for Vaishishtyam , a special school for mentally and physically challenged children set up by Param shakti peeth in Vatsalyagram Vrindavan by philanthropist Sadhvi Rithambra ,”Vaishshtyam” provides free comprehensive education to all special needs children with maternal touch “Vatsalya” in family charged atmosphere.

At present around 70 special needs children are being home-schooled free of cost out of which maximum students belonging to poor families of the area who are being provided transportation facilities from their homes to school and vice versa daily free of cost .

Most of these special needs school children belong to poor families who live below poverty line and are unable to pay even nominal fee for their education leave aside normal day to day expenditures. The institution has created support groups and specialized curriculum to meet the specific requirements of special needs .

All these children are being provided free transportation, free uniforms, books and teaching materials. Vaishishtyam has also launched its first ever project focused on teaching kindergardens to use the latest approaches to working with children with autism.

In a country where the specially-abled are still not considered fit to be a part of the society and are left at the mercy of God and begging for survival, this school is a welcome relief. While most of the children can not walk and talk, but courage and the vibrant smile on their faces is something that makes one forget all the troubles.

The school is providing adequate level of educational assistants, access to specialized services and following individualized education plans as areas where adequate support is required .

There isn't a kid in the world who hasn't occasionally wanted to skip schools but children who struggle with learning can grow to dread school so much , that every day becomes a battle for them, says Minakshi Aggarwal, principal of the school .

She says that some of the children who are admitted on the biological age of 14 have only 2-3 years of mental age and are required to be taught even practices of toilets, hand wash and to comb their hair. The institution has also started vocational courses for senior students so as to enable them to generate economic activities for their own livelihood in the long run .The school also organizes various medical camps for treating various ailments of special needs children in which renowned experts from various medical fields are invited for specialized treatments from time to time.

In comparison with normal children, the special needs children require much more attention particularly children with down syndrome, trizomy, moizaic , where two attendants are required for handling one child . While the institution is spending average Rs 10,000 per month on each day scholar children and average Rs 20,000 per month on those staying in the hostel but the parents are only requested to contribute voluntarily for generating support base so as institution could sustain in the long run.

The schools cater to the needs of children with special needs and learning difficulties such as dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and cognitive disabilities. Efforts are made to integrate these children into the mainstream school environment.

Vaishishtyam a charitable day and boarding school serving children of different age group suffering from autism spectrum disorder, speech and language impairments, vision and hearing impairments, down syndrome and multiple disabilities. Most of the students have challenging behaviours that interfere with their academic progress at school as well as interfering with their home life and community access.

Vaishishtyam is working on building an inclusive school that is open to children with disabilities, through play and the creation of free support services for disadvantaged families.

“We are working to tackle the stigma of disability, so that no parent feels pressured to give up a disabled child,” says school principal Minakshi Agarwal .

For the past one year Vaishishtyam experts in child development have been successfully working with parents of special needs children’s and as a result, children, who just one year ago were considered “not capable of learning” are now successfully integrating in the school system and taking part in intervention programmes.

Mathura Museum

India's most unique treasure house of Buddha statues, the government museum at Mathura, victim of neglect for a long time is all set to appear in a new ‘avatar.' Museum officials said work on many fronts is continuing but rather sluggishly for want of will and clear policy directions. The museum director AK Pandey sits in Lucknow to manage affairs in Mathura, said a contract worker who didn't want to disclose his identity. The museum make-over will cost Rs 4.25 crores but no deadline has been set for completion of work. Nobody "here knows when the audio system being installed to give the visitor complete details in several languages about a statue would be formally inaugurated. Files keep moving between Mathura and Lucknow, but the results at the ground level is a big zero.”

Insiders said the museum was not receiving the attention of the state government and the director Dr AK Pandey sitting in Lucknow manages the affairs of the museum. "The museum lacks adequate staff, trained librarian, historians, researchers. People hired on contract do not have the passion or the vision to give the kind of attention this prestigious institution is in need of. Policy decisions have been pending for such a long time. It is not clear when the audio system will become functional and who will formally inaugurate it. Actually there is neither an urgency nor a commitment at the top level. That is the reason why this great institution of India remains obscured and largely unknown to the world.”

The Mathura museum is said to have the largest collection in the world of Buddha statues and a wide range of artefacts connected with Buddhism. The huge Queen Victoria statues which were in news last August when some miscreants vandalised them, now have decent canopies, while the area around the 20-foot tall Buddha statue at the entrance has been spruced up. Fountains and lights add to the attractive ambience of the museum, which had remained largely neglected for long, joint director Dr SP Singh. Singh said the dozen odd statues of Buddhar will be sent in July to South Korea for an exhibition in the first week of September.

Writer-culture activist Ashok Bansal told TOI "this museum is the country's pride and if efforts had been sincerely made, it would have been the hub of Buddhist Tourism. No other museum has such a rich collection of Buddha statues anywhere. Buddhists coming from East Asia and Japan in particular are seen in awe and virtually mesmerised with the exclusive collection. Unfortunately the state government never bothered to upgrade and streamline facilities for tourists here. The museum needs a full time specialist director, based in Mathura, and a massive publicity campaign should be launched in Buddhist countries.” Officials at the museum said the statues had been 'cleaned and given touch-ups'; the wooden flooring is almost ready and the galleries are well illuminated. The whole area has been air conditioned for the benefit of visitors." Glass-cased statues mounted on padestals have inscriptions written on the sides and audio systems installed. "Tourists can learn about the details of each statue in several languages.," an assistant Murari Lal said. Gandhar, Hun, Kanishka period statues have separate galleries.

Founded in 1874 by the then British collector of Mathura FS Growse, it was originally named Curzon museum of Archaeology. Now it is called Government Museum, Mathura. It has a rich collection of artefacts, pottery, sculpturs, paintings, coins, clay seals, arms from in and around Mathura district, plus discoveries by noted archaeologists like Alexander Cunningham, Growse and Fuhrer. Sculptures of the Mathura School from 3rd century BC to 12th century AC, of the Kushan and Gupta empire are the pride of the museum. On October 9, 1974, a special commemorative stamp was released.

Temple Politics Heats Up In The Land Of Lord Krishna

Alarmed by increasing "assaults on the original and natural character" of the Hindu holy town, the "leela-sthal" of Lord Krishna and Radha, temple priests and owners of "Devalayas" here have joined hands to launch a sustained movement against "governmental interference".

They have formed the Vrindavan Devalaya Sangh to protest what they allege are continued attempts to "dilute" the autonomy of the temples and "drastically change the physical landscape of the holy land" in the name of development.

Already 15 well known temples have joined the front headed by Gopinath Lal Dev Goswami, who has demanded adequate representation in official bodies floated by the state government to speed up development of the area, identified as part of a new tourism circuit by the Adityanath Yogi government, which has floated the Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad.

Vrindavan was recognised as an independent municipal body by the British government in 1865, much before Mathura. "However the present government has merged Mathura and Vrindavan to form the new municipal corporation. We have protested and opposed this move, as it has undermined the distinct identity and character of Vrindavan," said Jagan Nath Poddar, convener of the Braj-Vrindavan Heritage Alliance.

The Yogi government has taken up several developmental programmes for the entire Braj area spread over 150 km, comprising Goverdhan, Barsana, Gokul, Mathura and Vrindavan.

The local BJP MP, film actor Hema Malini, has been particularly active in getting pending projects speeded up before 2019, when the Lok Sabha polls will be held. She has already expressed her wish to represent the land of Lord Krishna again in the next general elections. "Hema Malini has been spending a lot of time here and a huge mansion is under construction where she would be living after exit from politics to serve Sri Krishna-Radha," local activist Pavan Gautam told IANS.

The chief priest of the Sri Radha Raman temple, Acharya Sri Vats Goswami, told IANS: "It is not just the question of constant interference in the working of the local temples and building pressure to change the ritualistic culture of Vrindavan, we are equally concerned about the overall direction of change and development in the Braj area. The original glory and character of the Braj area has to be insulated against spurious development. We have neither been able to save the forests nor the water bodies -- including the Yamuna river."

The chief problem is that "outsiders" are deciding what would be good for Braj area, said Madhu Mangal Shukla, a petitioner in the Allahabad High Court to stall construction work in the Yamuna flood-plains in Vrindavan. "You have the local municipal bodies, then the Mathura Vrindavan Development Authority, the Braj Teerth Development Board, the Shrine Boards, and half a dozen other institutional mechanisms often seen at loggerheads and pulling in different directions," Shukla added.

Pandas or temple priests of Goverdhan, the holy hill that little Krishna is believed to have lifted on his finger to save Brajbasis from the wrath of Indra Dev, are in ferment, protesting the Uttar Pradesh government's decision to constitute a Shrine Board, headed by an IAS official. The local pandas see this as a move to deprive them of the earnings from donations and worship of the "Goverdhan Parbat" at Daan Ghati and other places.

In Vrindavan, priests of the famous sri Bankey Bihari temple have protested government interference in the time schedule of darshans. The officials want the temple to remain open for longer hours, but the priests see this as a direct attempt to limit their freedom and traditions.

Content-starved Digital Platforms Help Revive Interest In Braj Sangeet

Thanks to new digital platforms and the rising popularity of YouTube channels, Braj folk songs and classical singing traditions, which were threatened by loss of patronage, are back in demand and are witnessing a happy revival.

Music shops in Vrindavan's narrow lanes are overflowing with CDs, pen drives or chips with recordings of local artistes singing Krishna bhajans or local folk songs.

"The revival of interest in religious content, Bhagwat Katha or Keertans or enactments of Sri Krishna Leelas, has promoted local talent, many now a permanent feature on television channels," music maestro Madhukar Chaturvedi told IANS.

Popular actress Hema Malini, the Bharatiya Janata Party's Lok Sabha MP from Mathura, has been supporting cultural expositions and talent shows. The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has also focused on development of the Braj circuit centering around Mathura, which has seen a huge jump in footfalls round the year.

Pilgrims who visit Vrindavan or Goverdhan seldom forget to buy a couple of CDs with local music and songs. This has given a spurt to bhajan singing, haveli sangeet and samaj gayan paramparas in temples of Braj mandal.

Vrindavan's Ras-Leela mandalies (folk dance troupes) and more than a hundred Katha Vachaks or Bhagwatacharyas (Srimad Bhagwat story tellers) are in demand globally, and have given a big boost to the dying musical traditions of Braj area.

Sri Krishna temples in Mathura, Vrindavan, Goverdhan, Barsana, Nathdwara in Rajasthan and many Vaishnavite temples in Gujarat are now promoting haveli sangeet or temple music, say musicians and aficionados.

Many temples like Sri Radha Raman, Sri Krishna temple in Nand Gaon and the Radha Rani temple at Barsana, are sincerely following the centuries-old musical traditions, said Vrindavan's celebrated classical music exponent Astha Goswami, trained under Padma Vibhushan awardee Girija Devi at ITC's Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkatta.

Goswami said the popular streams in Braj were Malhar, Dhrupad, Thumri and Kajri. "Malhaar actually portrays nature in all its splendour and profuseness. Malhar excites the intense love for nature in us."

"The Braj Sangeet, with Sri Krishna-Radha as its epicentre, is heavily dependent on nature which sustains and nourishes a variety of Malhaars which can be classical, semi-classical or folk. Vrindavan is the place to soak in these soul-stirring variants of Malhaars at the Sri Radha Raman, Radha Ballabh, Tatia sthaan, Nimbark Kot," Goswami explained.

The contribution of Asht Chaap poets has been tremendous to the growth of music in Braj mandal which now has a large number of practitioners. Haveli sangeet flourished in the 16th century when its exponents included the eight poets called "ashta chaap kavis", and the blind bard of Braj, Sant Surdas. These exponents enriched the tradition and gave it a structure, Goswami added.

Haveli sangeet involves the daily worship of Lord Krishna with a special kind of singing, according to a set timetable of ragas which vary according to different hours of the day. The tradition is of specific importance to the Pushtimarg sect started by Vaishnavite saint Vallabhacharya around 945 AD.

"Haveli was actually a temple where the presiding deity was installed. Due to the intolerance of some Muslim rulers, temples were called 'havelis' or mansions. The main component of haveli sangeet is the dhrupad Hindustani classical singing style. However, dhrupad is often fused with folk music to produce songs which revolve around devotion to Sri Krishna and are rendered in 'keertan' form, as 'bhajans' and 'bhav nritya'."

The instruments used in haveli sangeet are pakhawaj, tabla, harmonium, surpeti, jhanjh and majeera, and sometimes also a bansuri and sarangi.

Thr rich musical traditions of Braj can be sustained and promoted if the state hires young musicians and allows them to sing and play at the popular temples of the region. Money is a major constraint in the promotion of classical music. Government agencies can lend a helping hand and save this precious musical heritage of Braj, Goswami said.

Stray Cattle A Lurking Menace In Sri Krishna Land

Not just people in cities, but even farmers in the vast rural hinterland are approaching local authorities seeking urgent solutions to the exploding bovine population that is destroying crops, causing traffic hazards and making life difficult for all.

On road crossings and busy streets, herds of stray cattle move around menacingly. The bulls have been charging at people and causing injuries almost every day.

The police say they are helpless. Municipal officials say there is no space for captured animals.

After the ban on cow slaughter by the Uttar Pradesh government, the number of animals on roads and public parks has increased alarmingly.

"Since no one is willing to feed the stray cows, these animals are eating all the garbage, including polythene bags and waste leather. When in agony, even the cows go berserk and start attacking anyone," says local resident Jugal Kishore.

This is a huge problem that government officials have failed in Braj area to address, along with the simian nuisance.

People are now demanding forced sterilisation of animals to keep their numbers in check.

In Mathura district, more than 100 private "gaushalas", or cow shelters, are already filled to capacity. In Radha Kund, a German lady is running one with more than 1,700 cows and bulls.

"Vrindavan is desperately in need of a cow hospital, but the gaushala that is currently most active in treating injured street cows has not been able to raise the funds for a hospital building and urgently needs more surgical supplies," said a Vrindavan official, who did not want to be named.

In the past fortnight, several people have been seriously injured and an elderly man died as a bull charged at people in a crowded market.

The lanes are full of stray animals -- dogs, monkeys and cows. Bulls have been attacking tourists even outside the Taj Mahal and Akbar's tomb at Sikandra.

"The Agra Municipal Corporation is supposed to capture these animals and house them in enclosures, but the officials are not at all serious," complained Vijay Nagar Colony resident Sudheir Gupta.

"Our colony is daily visited by dozens of cows and bulls. This is in addition to monkeys and dogs," he added.

The faithful feed bananas to the monkeys and green leaves and spinach bundles to the cows on the Yamuna Kinara road early in the morning. Later, these animals enter the busy market places and start attacking people, said temple priest Nandan Shrotriya.

In Mathura and Vrindavan, the bovine menace has taken alarming proportions. Truckloads come from the rural hinterland to dump the unwanted animals.

Hundreds of bulls and cows also die or get injured in road accidents while moving in search of food.

The government had announced opening of gaushalas and cow sheds in a phased manner. Recently, the government again announced a plan to establish "gau-ashrams" for homeless cattle. But the crisis remains.

How An All-Women Driving School Is Giving Wings To Women

On any busy traffic crossing in the historic Mughal city of Agra, one would be surprised to see the number of women on two-wheelers. Not only young girls, but more and more middle-aged women, including housewives, are now seen enjoying their new-found freedom of mobility, a stark contrast from a few years ago.

One can witness similar scenes some 60 kilometers away in Mathura, the city considered sacred by Hindus being the birthplace of Lord Krishna.

Mathura resident Pawani Khandelwal, who describes herself as a raging feminist, truly believes that something as simple as riding a two-wheeler can transform lives of middle-aged housewives in small towns where even switching from wearing a saree to a salwar-suit is seen as a revolution.

Being able to ride a "scooty" - a smaller version of a scooter with auto-transmission - can empower women by making them self-dependent, she says.

That was the reason that when she decided to start a scooter driving school for women, she could not think of a better name than ‘Aatm Nirbhar' - literally meaning self-dependent.

"Bicycles are now out of fashion. Most women go for a scooty or an electric scooter. After school hours, you will find so many of them with kids tucked tightly to their backs hurrying back home," commented school teacher Meera Gupta.

"You can see girls zooming past, competing with boys as if to declare they are second to none," she added.

The 23-year-old Pawani realised the need for an all-women driving school when her mother Rekha Khandelwal - who had never even ridden a bicycle - wanted to learn riding a scooty.

"I have been riding a two-wheeler (a Royal Enfield motorcycle presently) myself now for over seven years and therefore I was always under the impression that it is basic thing to know and most people - men or women - already know how to ride a two-wheeler," Pawani told IANS.

But when her mother wanted to learn riding a scooty, she had a really tough time finding a lady trainer.

"That made me realise how difficult it is for women to learn this very basic skill because men in their families don't have the patience to teach them, and women in small towns aren't very comfortable with male trainers," she said.

"When we began searching a lady trainer for my mom, I realised that in every household there was at least one woman who was in dire need to learn to ride a scooty. Moreover, I realised that for most women, especially housewives, riding a scooty isn't just a mode of transport, but a feeling of youth and freedom," Pawani added.

Fueled by this desire to help her mother and other women like her, Pawani set up a purely women-driven and women-oriented two-wheeler riding school in November last year in Mathura. In just over a year, Aatm Nirbhar - which started with just a dozen women - has already expanded to four more cities including Agra, Bharatpur, Jaipur and Vrindavan training over 1,100 women.

The initiative has also been recognised by the Transport Ministry of Uttar Pradesh and the Central government's "Start-Up India" programme.

Pawani says that in a country with an unreliable public transport, most women - especially in small towns and cities - have to depend on their husbands, brothers and auto-rikshaws for one of the most basic human needs - mobility - be it for dropping their children to school, going shopping or to their tailor, and other basic chores outside their homes.

With most women who sign up with Aatm Nirbhar not even able to ride a bicycle, their training is conducted over 10 one-hour sessions over 10 days, after which they can confidently ride the scooty and are awarded a certificate of learning.

Since all of its students are women, all training sessions are scheduled keeping in mind their convenience and the lady trainers pick the student from her house and drops her back after the training session. This has helped the organisation win the trust of not only the women learners, but also their families.

Moreover, with majority of its trainers coming from marginalised families, it is making more women financially self-dependent by opening up new job opportunities for them.

Pawani started by creating a Facebook page to reach out to women to tell them about her school for driving. Women from age 16 to 60 signed up to learn how to ride a scooty with most of them surprisingly being middle-aged housewives.

Each one of our trainers and students have a motivating story to tell - a story of their discovery of freedom, independence and self-reliance, says Pawani.

"In the next two years, we want to expand to every tier-2 and tier-3 city of India with the support of self-driven women," she adds.

On March 8 - which is celebrated globally as Women's Day - Aatm Nirbhar organised an entrepreneurship summit for women which was attended by over a 150 business women and budding female entrepreneurs.

"Aatm Nirbhar is not just a company, but a thought that has inspired and continues to inspire thousands of women to rediscover their lost sense of independence and self reliance," Pawani says.

HERITAGE STATUS FOR GOVERDHAN HILL

NGT wants a comprehensive plan for conservation of the holy shrine

Goverdhan (Mathura district) October 4

State government officials Thursday went into a huddle to explore justifications why the holy Goverdhan Parbat could not be declared a heritage entity, after the National Green Tribunal sought replies from concerned authorities Wednesday.

While considering the petition filed by Goverdhan Parikrama Marg Sanrakshan Samiti, Justice Raghvendra Singh Rathod instructed the concerned departments to seriously study the proposal for granting heritage status to Goverdhan. On the issue of the constitution of a Shrine Board, the NGT chided the local officials for undue delay.1

The NGT said Goverdhan hill (believed to have been lifted by Sri Krishna on his little finger to protect the Braj Basis from the wrath of Indra Dev), was a much older religious site revered by millions of faithfuls round the year. If structures only a 100 or 200 years old can become heritage assets, why can not Goverdhan with a history of thousands of years, the petitioner said.

The petition seeks firm action against unbridled encroachment of the 21-kilometre long Parikrama Marg round the hill.

In July the Union minister of state for tourism KJ Alphons had said “Goverdhan will soon be promoted as an international tourist centre, with world class facilities.” But nothing happened.

Goverdhan is annually visited by crores of pilgrims, most performing the 21 kilometre parikrama of Goverdhan parbat.

Alarmed by a spate of illegal constructions obstructing the Parikrama Marg and imbalancing the fragile ecology of the area, local activists have demanded halt to all developmental activities that are proving a threat to nature.

Goverdhan has lately emerged as a spiritual hub for millions who perform puja with milk and honey, while a majority goes on a parikrama of the holy hill.

With increasing influx of NRIs and high income group pilgrims from the metros, the town which once had only ‘dharamshalas’ or temple premises for night stay, is now home to smaller hotels and a row of road-side dhabaas. A number of resorts have come up around the hill and residential apartments, all the way till Jatipura and Barsana road. The movement of vehicles has raised the air pollution level.

Goverdhan, is perhaps the only pilgrim centre that records the highest number of devotees in India, round the year, for ‘parikrama of the 21 kilometre long holy hill,” says a local pandit Ravi Baba. “They keep coming whatever be the season, or time of the day, from thousands to lakhs daily. A rough estimate of the pilgrims would be over ten crores annually. For the five day annual fair of Mudiya Poonau, we have over ten million visitors,” added local shop keeper Madhu Mangal.

Goverdhan is high on the priority list of the Yogi government which has embarked on a massive construction spree, building bypasses, new roads, adding pilgrim shelters and providing street lighting along the parikrama route. A number of NGOs are busy renovating holy ponds and groves.

Some years ago a team of experts from the US had drawn up a comprehensive conservation plan for the Goverdhan hill and demanded recognition has a world heritage site.

"Goverdhan hill is unique in the world, visited by more than ten million people annually. However, its ecosystem is in a shambles, the water bodies have been destroyed and the green cover almost disappeared," team leader Amita Sinha of the Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, US, had told IANS.

The team had prepared a watershed map of the hill and identified vegetation patterns, surveyed historic and other structures, observed pilgrimage rites and conducted interviews with pilgrims and resident devotees. Unfortunately the plan is all but forgotten, perhaps gathering dust in some government office almirrah.

The Akhilesh Yadav government had announced a slew of developmental projects but dragged its feet on implementation.

The NGT intervention and a directive to consider declaring Goverdhan as a heritage site, will perhaps add momentum to campaigns to save Goverdhan from directionless-development.

Mathura churns out fashionable dresses for Sri Krishna

Mathura, Sep 4