Campaign to save river fosters amity in east UP
LUCKNOW: A dying river has united the people in east UP at a time when the villages in west UP are in the grip of communal tension over cow slaughter.
Cutting across religion and caste lines, villagers marched 110 kilometres to raise awareness about increasing pollution in the Aami river.
Hindus and Muslims marched shoulder to shoulder from one village to another to urge the farmers to join hands to protect the river. The ‘padyatra’ started on October 2 from Shikhara lake in Siddharthanagar. It concluded on October 10 at Sohgaura village in Gorakhpur district where the Aami merges into the Rapti.
Increasing communal tension in Bisada (Gautam Buddha Nagar), Newada (Sultanpur) and Karhal (Mainpuri) over cow slaughter failed to divide the campaigners committed to the protection of the river. Khurshid Alam, pradhan (head) of Sikhara village, motivated the Muslim youths to join the padyatra. A dalit, Shiv Karan Gautam of Bewa village, encouraged the scheduled caste members to participate in the march.
Before launching the padyatra, the people offered prayers at the mazar (shrine) of Malang Baba, a well-known sufi saint. Urdu poet Raahi Bastavi recited verses, focusing on the pollution and plight of the farmers.
Aami Bachao Manch president Vishwa Vijay Singh said, “As the padyatra moved along the bank of the Aami in Siddharthnagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar and Gorakhpur districts, a large number of villagers from various communities joined the march.”
“The pollution issue is not concerned with a particular religion or area. The farmers settled in the river basin area are facing problems due to an increase in pollution,” he said.
During the padyatra, the volunteers located several underground water resources that replenish the water level of the river.
The Aami Bachao Manch will organise a conference at Sant Kabir’s Samadhi (shrine) at Maghar town on October 14 to give a momentum to the movement. The sufi saint spent his last days here and a large. A number of pilgrims and tourists go to the spot which was visited by Guru Nanak Dev centuries ago.