The Delhi to Haridwar foot march, which started from Jantar Mantar on March 9, 2019 concluded today at Matri Sadan, Haridwar, the site of long fasts for conservation of Ganga. Currently, 26 years old Brahmachari Atmabodhanand is on fast for 145 days in order to press upon the government listens to his demands.
Earlier, Swami Nigmanand lost his life after 115 days fast in 2011 against illegal mining in Ganga, followed by Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand, formerly Prof GD Agrawal, who lost his life on October 11, 2019 after 112 days of fast demanding halt of all proposed and ongoing hydroelectric power projects on Ganga, illegal mining, deforestation in river basin and flow of sewage into Ganga.
A meeting was held in the presence of Atmabodhanand and Swami Shivanand, head of Matri Sadan, in which environmentalist Ravi Chopra, member of Parliament from Nepal Met Mani Chaudhary, and Asia representative of United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Phoolman Chaudhary were present.
The marchers who reached Matri Sadan this morning included Faisal Khan, Bhupinder Singh Rawat, Kallol Roy, Praveen Kumar Singh, Aditya Yadav, Dharamveer Singh, Shankar Singh, Krishan Dake, Gautam De Sarkar, Heera Das, Ahmed Iqbal Hussain, Shabbir Hussain, Ramchandra Prasad Das, Sant Shiromani Sanwar Muni Ravidas, Sandeep Pandey, Medha Pushkar, Shalini Shrinet, Sushil Khanna, Hema Bhandari, Uma Ghildiyal and Devesh Patel.
Around 15,000 leaflets were distributed along the route, said a communiqué issued by the organizers. The march was hosted by pediatrician Dr. Ashank in Roorkee, local corporator Gulfam of Kaliyar, and by Hema Bhandari, contender in last election for mayor’s post in Haridwar on behalf of the Aam Admi Party in Haridwar.
“The marchers will take the message in the next general elections that the ruling BJP, which has exhibited utter insensitivity towards the saints fasting for Ganga should not be returned to power”, the communiqué added.
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