‘Ganga jal’ as covid-cure?
PRAYAGRAJ: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has sought a presentation for assessing the medicinal value of Ganga Jal in treating Covid-19 patients. Experts claiming Ganga Jal’s scientific importance received an email from ICMR in this regard, on April 26, 2020. The team of experts led by IIM-Bangalore, former professor and eminent economist Bharat Jhunjhunwala will make a virtual presentation before the ICMR panel on April 28, along with senior advocate and Allahabad HC amicus curiae in the Ganga Pollution case, Arun Kumar Gupta.
PRAYAGRAJ: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has sought a presentation for assessing the medicinal value of Ganga Jal in treating Covid-19 patients. Experts claiming Ganga Jal’s scientific importance received an email from ICMR in this regard, on April 26, 2020.
The team of experts led by Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore, former professor and eminent economist Bharat Jhunjhunwala will make a virtual presentation before the ICMR panel on April 28, along with senior advocate and Allahabad High Court amicus curiae in the Ganga Pollution case, Arun Kumar Gupta.
According to Jhujhunwala, the proposal for the same was sent around a week ago and on Tuesday the virtual presentation was scheduled before a panel of experts. “Hopefully, Ganga Jal will get its due place with the world recognising its medicinal importance by way of bringing an end to the pandemic,” he said.
ICMR scientist Jerin Jose Cherian said that the proposal for testing Ganga Jal was received after which a presentation was sought from experts having made the claims. “The virtual presentation is scheduled for April 28 before an expert ICMR panel,” he added.
According to Arun Kumar Gupta, the brainchild behind the proposal, who was also an expert committee member to review the Ganga Maintenance Protection and Rejuvenation Bill 2019, which is soon to be tabled in parliament, “not only in ancient texts like the Rig Veda but research by scientists the world over also has also established the scientific value of Ganga Jal, which kills foreign bodies and enhances immune system of a living being”.
Gupta said that British bacteriologist Ernest Hankins reported in 1896 about the presence of marked anti-bacterial activities against ‘vibrio-cholerae’, which he observed in Ganga water after which he suggested that Ganga water may help decrease incidence of cholera in people.
Further, French-Canadian microbiologist Felix d’Herelle called the microorganisms found only in the Ganga as ‘bacteriophage’ which made the world come to know why the water of Ganga never deteriorated as the bacteriophages killed pathogens and bacteria present in it, he said.
According to Gupta, National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow eminent scientist Chandra Shekhar Nautiyal had also categorically stated that Ganga water seemed to indicate a role of anti-microbial peptides (AMPs) which are part of the innate immune system and important component of immune defence.
He also cited a 2007 report of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) which demonstrated that Ganga water contained around 1,100 types of bacteriophage besides exhibiting certain distinct qualities in terms of higher alkalinity and pH and abundance of trace elements unfavourable for pathogens.
According to Banaras Hindu University neurophysician Vijay Nath Mishra, Corona was a virus of influenza and swine flu pathogens which changed morphology rapidly besides mutating at a fast pace. “A virus actually has protein covered DNA or RNA strand. Corona is a RNA virus having a lipid cap on it. As it enters the human body the lipid cap is dissolved and RNA strands of the virus enter the human cell.
On entering the human cell the virus’s RNA strand uses the human cell to reverse the transcriptive protein or enzyme to make new DNA and later, the new RNA to multiply. Bacteriophage found in Ganga water prevents this transcription process of the virus which would stop its further growth in a human cell and will render it ineffective,” he said.
North Eastern Hill University (Shillong) biochemistry department’s Timir Tripathi maintained that researchers had found that pure Ganga Jal owed properties which could boost immunity in human beings, thereby enabling humans to fight against Corona effectively.
On April 14, the Hindustan Times had published a report on Arun Kumar Gupta proposing using the Ganga water to treat coronavirus.