On the occasion of the ongoing Godavari Pushkaram, the Centre for Environment, Rajahmundry, has appealed to the devotees and pilgrims taking bath in the great river and performing rituals to keep it clean and pollution-free.
In a statement issued in Rajahmundry, Dr. T. Patanjali Sastry, of the Centre for Environment, said “I respect the religious sentiments of the devotees but it is also their responsibility to keep the river clean. No plastic material should be used or thrown into the river or on the banks of the river. Soap should not be used while taking a bath in the river.”
Of the two great rivers in the country, the Ganga in the north and the Godavari in the south, the former had become largely polluted, while the latter is relatively pollution-free, as it passes through difficult terrain and there are not very many industrial areas in its course. He said it is the responsibility of the Government, the public and all others to preserve the purity of the Godavari waters and also the bio-diversity of the river.
He felt that the ancient Indians had introduced river worship to make man aware of his kinship with nature and Pushkaram should be understood in the perspective.