Several civil society organizations have decided to hold a foot march starting near Amar Jawan Jyoti, India Gate, to Jantar Mantar via Copernicus Marg on February 23 afternoon, followed by a public meeting, to protest against the government’s alleged silence on fast unto death by Swami Aatmabodhanand for free Ganga since October 24, 2018.
A National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) statement ahead of the protest rally regrets, "Regardless of all the claims being made in the Ardhakumbha, the symbol of the Ganga-Jamuni culture, river Ganga is in danger. While the Ganges in Uttarakhand is suffering from dams, pollution, sand mining, barrages and waterways affect the river in the plains."
Aatmabodhanand, 26, of Matri Sadan is on fast unto death after the death of Swami Sanand (Prof GD Agrawal), who gave up his life after 111 days of continuous fast for the noble cause of free flow of Ganges.
A student of computer science, Aatmabodhanand took sanyas at the age of 22 under the aegis of Swami Shivanand of Matri Sadan and dedicated his life for the cause of free flow of Ganga. This is his 10th fast for the cause of the river. NAPM says, "Unfortunately, the government has not shown any interest in initiating any dialogue on the issue."
Those who will be participating in the protest include Swami Shivanand from Matri Sadan (Haridwar), Swami Avimukteshwaranand from Vidya Matth (Varanasi), social workers Dr Sunilam and Sandeep Pandey, political activist Yogendra Yadav, among others.
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