By Siddhant Mohan, TwoCircles.net
With Navratri less than two weeks away, petitioners from the Durga Puja societies of Varanasi have moved to Allahabad High Court for idol immersion to be allowed once again in Ganga. But this time, they have used an interesting, if slightly controversial, reason: according to the PIL, if blood from animals sacrificed by Muslims during Bakrid is allowed to flow into the river, there is no reason why they should be stopped from immersing idols in the river too.
In August this year, Varanasi had seen clashes over idol immersions in Ganga.
TwoCircles.net has a copy of the petition filed on behalf of Sarvajanik Durgotsav Samiti and Kendriya Puja Samiti. It asks petitioners to grant the Durga idol immersion in Ganga “Because during Eid, millions of goats are butchered and millions of litres of un-dissolvable blood go in the river, (which is) not only harmful for the health but also increases the chances of diseases.”
However, the PIL does not state that if it wants the court to put a ban on to Bakrid sacrifices subsequently.
In 2014, Allahabad High Court ruled that immersion of idols should not be done in Ganga River across the state. The Court also gave a relaxation of one year to authorities and Puja committees to find an alternative to start immersing the idols from next season of festivals.
But the tussle between the Hindu hardliners and government started in 2015 when some groups again tried to immerse the idols in Ganga in September going against the court’s order.
Key petitioner and president at Central Puja Committee Tilakraj Mishra told TwoCircles.net, “Every year during Bakrid, a huge amount of blood flows through sewage lines and goes directly into the Ganga stream. We have asked the court whether that does not pollute the Ganga?”
“It seems that only Idols are meant to pollute the Ganga,” said Mishra.
For Mishra and others supporting this movement, if the idol immersion has to be stopped, then butchering of animals should be too. “We are asking to immerse the idols in the Ganga, which will solely be made of natural colours and soil from the Ganga. And this will happen for once in every year,” said Mishra. “Not unlike the butchering, which pollutes Ganga anytime of the year, not only on Bakrid.”
For Durga Puja managers, the court is not the only way to seek a solution to this matter. Several letters and requests have already been raised to the new chief minister of the state Yogi Adityanath.
Apart from asking the authorities to allow immersion and Ganga and discharge of Ganga water from dams, the PIL prays the court to direct the authorities “so that public sentiments, peace and tranquillity should be maintained.”
“…otherwise the Hindu public would lose faith in the Constitution of India and shall also suffer irreparable loss and injury,” read the PIL further.
Indra Mani Tripathi, the lawyer for the petitioners, defended the reference to Eid with the argument that “India is a Hindu nation”. “Many communities which do not belong to India are allowed to follow their religion, but why not us?” he asked.
Tripathi stresses that blood flow during Bakrid does not get treated by sewage treatment plants (STPs) installed along the rivers in Varanasi. “STPs cannot treat blood which is filled with harmful pathogens which cause serious diseases. Bakrid is put as an example in the PIL that if they are allowed to embrace their religion being it detrimental to the Ganga, why we should not be allowed, even after we are promising to immerse only eco-friendly idols in Ganga,” he said.