Why do we need a CPCB today?

Its because we have conveniently forgotten the

existence of our river Ganga and moved on. This new age living has distanced us from
our natural living space. The colonial institution brought about capitalism, which further
estranged us from nature. We no longer take care of our commons, and the commons are
now unfortunately private property. How do we then take up the responsibilities and
rights of nature, that are essentially theirs.
We rented out without hesitation our habitat to the government and capitalist institution.
We pay them to do what we should be doing and whats our right to do. We have gladly
outsourced our responsibilities. The system has become so much a part of our living that
even if we fight against it, its a tough battle to win. It is impossible for us to think of
communities governing themselves, decentralization is seen as last season. Some faceless
authority taking decisions on our behalf, while we vote and pay taxes.
Under such scenarios, the disconnect between nature and society is complete. The creme
de la creme of society live under the impression that their needs are being taken care of
by some distant authority. The people from the lower rungs of society however depend
heavily on nature for their survival. They do not have municipal authorities for their
water needs nor do their trash get picked up. They therefore depend heavily on nature for
their daily requirements. The rich may think they do not need the river, but underneath
their very noses, it seeps into their daily lives. Baviskar A explains this by saying that, the
river extends far and wide. Its present unnoticed and subtle in our lives. We see their
presence in the rotis that come from the full land of Punjab, or when we eat the rice from
the Kaveri delta. When we switch on the light, open a tap, take a bath, the river is always
silently present, turning the wheels of the vehicle of our daily lives. The river births
civilizations developed beyond recognition, the river water mingling with the sweat of
human labour.
We hardly ever realize that the facilities we depend on the government for, comes from
nature, making us inadvertently dependent on it. The providers of our comfort transit
between nature and us. Therefore the power that the river holds for the sustenance of life
holds true even today. Even if we break the direct contact between humans and rivers, the
rivers will remain the soul of human society.
Ganga water, as it enters Delhi, is extracted at Wazirabad Barrage, and the people never
realize that the water they drink comes from Ganga, just like the old centuries. The
difference lies only in the fact that back then, water had to be got physically from the
river. Whereas now, water flows from the taps of their homes. Therefore we forget the
river, and it remains exploited. More than half the population of the city does not know
which river basin they belong to, and if we ask the children, they say they are on the tap
water basin says Vimlendu Jha, an environmentalist from Delhi. The answer is
completely unsurprising we look at the general level o ignorance bestowed on Ganga.
Inhabitants of the city who no longer have an access to her see her only as a source of
irrigation, power supply etc. The Peace Institute Charitable Trust and CMS environment
conducted a study in 2009, regarding the knowledge, attitude and practices of the
inhabitants of Delhi towards Ganga. The Study revealed how very little they know of the

life source that holds their life together, and Ganga is barely even looked at as a river. Its
seen as a dumping ground, or a water and power source at the most.
It blatantly seems like Ganga has been wiped out from the minds and imaginations of the
people. No longer is she a part of the fantastic creations of our minds. She is shoved away
in some corner of our head, barely a part of ideas or visual creations of the mind. Are the
people of the city of Delhi aware of this river? What knowledge do they possess of her?
What personal relation do they share with her? Is she thought about amidst their busy
schedule? If they do, then to what extent? What is their behavioral pattern towards her? Is
the perception of Ganga changing, or is it just vanishing altogether? While sitting in a
boat, and moving across her waters, and listening to a fisherman hum his favorite tune,
these are the thoughts that assail our minds. Have we changed our thoughts on Ganga, or
do we have any thoughts about her at all?
During ruminations like these, one can hardly conceive the fact that this city has forgotten
Ganga. Addicted to the idea of her, her culture, theology, it was unbelievable that she had
been forgotten. She consumed ones imagination so completely that imagining life
without her seemed baffling. Until and unless one chooses embark upon a journey of
Ganga, it seems the idea fails to register and take shape about how pulsatingly alive and
vital she is. Such were the perils of living in a metropolitan.
Delhi and Ganga are two dynamic and evolving entities, and so is their relationship.the
city owes its very sustenance to this river; once the city stood before the river-head bent
and in complete submission. This was followed by the city behaving as an equal; as
though the river never made much of a difference. And today, the feeling of superiority
has escalated to such a level that the river stands completely discarded. It almost seems
like a sibling rivalry where as the years pass by, power becomes an addiction. The irony
lies in the fact that the increase in power of the city can be directly linked to the river it
neglects.
As the capital city, Delhi became the home to many, it grew towards its south and away
from the river. New was a concept that attracted the city, with its new inhabitants,
migrants and refugees who did not feel any affiliation towards the river. Ganga in all the
process of newness became the receptor of everything that was to be dumped and useless.
The heralded newness also marked a change in the perception of the river. All the
development that happened around it gave Ganga a complete change; so much so that it
could barely be recognized.
Development further resulted in consumerism, further bringing about waste material from
the produce, making its way towards the river, contributing further towards its emerging
ugliness. This reduced the visits from people who needed a respite from the city life that
surrounded the.
Pg. 183
...its a matter of jest for an economy that is moving away from the primary to the service

based structure of the economy, which is concentrated in certain areas. The agricultural
life, cattle herding, and the likes were not a part of the idea of the developed world class
city. the sufferings of this river has not evoked the strings of imagination of either the
poet or the artist.
The riverfront began to be regarded as less important an entity with each passing day. It
was no longer a social space as development proceeded, and river front became less and
less important. As highways came about the city began to be more distanced from the
main city. All these strategies towards a developed city has left the Ganga contaminated
and rejected. The river was first left behind by the upper classes who left the river front
for marginal occupations and a change in lifestyle and for those occupations, that even in
such a market driven economy need the river. And now, in their process of reclaiming he
river they spawned, they are snatching it away from the river front people. It is sadly a
fact that many believe that the custodians of the Ganga are her problem and initiating her
as a part of the city will solve the problem. The idea gaining momentum is that,
developing the riverfront as a commercial space and removing the river front people
would help clean up the river. The naivety and ignorance is to be scoffed at.
The uniformity and disallowing the many uses of the river with the imposition of a single
reality on all can be seen illustrated in the use of the river as stated above. A consumerist
and technology driven scenario to replace a multi-dimensional one that exists.
Looking at the Akshardham temple, its a matter of thought that a riverfront is still seen as
viable for a temple, but it also takes a totally different turn.we see that previously existent
temples were demolished as they were within 300 meter radius of the river. This one rule
seems to completely excuse the Akshardham complex. It was built up in all its glory
when traditional, smaller temples had to make way. it shows blatantly what the idea of a
world class city constitutes of: the neo liberal, money making ideas, the ones that attract
the tourists and suits the layout as planned by the elite. Its noteworthy that religious ideas
are hard to change but can be bent to the changing preferences and way of life of the
dominant class.
There is a heart wrenching metamorphosis here. She has come down from being a
goddess who overwhelms, to a sewer, crossing which people have to cover their noses,
sitting in cars that swoosh by. With all the garbage in her, Ganga is being intoxicated. She
is becoming like her sister, the River of Death. Fallen prey to her brother, she is perhaps
dying herself. The city has forsaken her and she weeps at her own fate, the fact that she is
lacking somehow in catering to the desires and wants of all. The elite decide what use the
river will be, and for what purpose she is to be reserved. The idea of the river is changing,
she is becoming a topic of dispute as various people compete for their ideas for gains in
the matter of money. This river, a liquid embodiment of Shakti has become a controlled
force, a putty in the hands of the developer.
Sitting by the Ganga, if we hear her song, she speaks to us, gives us her message. We see
her struggle to survive and her lost identity. We can feel her pain. It should make us sad,
guilty and enraged. We should question as to what is causing the loss of her quintessence

and diversity, making her morose and linear. The answer the river seems to give is
development. What is this chant, this ideology that is turning Ganga from a river to a
sewer? Her riverfront, where diversity conclaved is becoming a point of conflict; forcing
uniformity over a multi-faceted cultural unit.the notions that are completely changing the
identity of the river previously called the River of Love to The River of Death. To
understand the transformation of Ganga into a merely economic entity, one has to
understand the notion of development. The modern mindset was a crucial point to be
understood to comprehend the the modern Ganga.
Eighteenth century Enlightenment in the West saw a rise in scientific reasoning. It was a
progress from which there was no looking back, an arrival of the new world order. This
Age taught questioning. Nothing was followed blindly, the Church became the major
target of this era as people tried to quench their thirst for knowledge. It was a humanizing
event, that happened along with the Renaissance. The common people got involved in
large scale research questioning the church at every turn. The progress resulted a change
of thought process giving minimum value to emotion, intuition and spirituality, placing
them outside reasoning and therefore useless. this separation between philosophical
thought and science was not only seen as unimportant but also an impossibility for the
Indian psyche which saw science and philosophy as a culmination. Science became the
interpreter of reality, pushing creativity and imagination far behind.
As the field of science advanced, the cultural identity of the West was altered to a great
extent, gradually making its way into the east by means of Colonization. Humankind got
so lost in advancing technologically that the true essence of Enlightenment was lost
which was the search for true knowledge. Economic growth became the craze and
scientism took a back seat. Aim became profit. Innovation in technology was for increase
in production, further resulting in economic progress. Science was relegated to
engineering.
Protestantism was gaining momentum with the environment of science and progress.the
work by Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism talks of how the
philosophy behind Protestantism and Calvanism was the root behind economic ideology.
Once again, like in Renaissance, the spirit of its religious foundation lay forgotten
altogether. The riches of capitalism made humankind forget the real meaning of
renaissance or Protestantism. Many thinkers go by the belief that the tenets legitimizing
technology and the ideology of capitalism were present in Christianity and not acquired
by the rise of capitalism. Haberman D goes by the belief that several negative aspects of
Western Christianity contributed to environmental crisis. Various life forma have been
disregarded by the Christian belief that humans are superior to all other forms of life.
Secondly, a mood of indifference was created due to this tenet as nature was not given
any sacrality. Christianity associated technological advancement with religious fervour,
legitimizing the damage done because of it to the environment. Fourth, non human
subjects being relative, a thought process known as metempsychosis was completely
negated by Christianity. The religious belief stated that the good soul deserved the human
body alone, not a plant or an animal, removing restraints to harming nonhuman forms of

life. Wilderness is often seen as a cursed land by Christianity. Paradise was seen as either
a garden like Eden or as a city, an example of which is New Jerusalem. Here we see
propagation of domestication of wild lands and its inhabitants. Fifth, the idea of a world
and life after the one on earth can be seen throughout Christianity. In such a belief, the
more permanent and aspired for world is not here, devaluing the existence of the earth. It
is also an accusation that Christianity eradicated many cultures that had eco friendly
attitudes.