Revisit beliefs, don't immerse cremation ashes in river Ganga: Union Minister

HARIDWAR: Union Minister Dr. Satya Pal Singh on Tuesday urged people to people to bury cremation ashes in the ground instead of immersing it in River Ganga. As per Hindu rituals, ashes of the deceased are immersed in Ganga. "As per the present situation, I appeal to everyone, ashes must be buried in ground and saplings should be planted on it, so even coming generations can remember (the deceased). I urge all priests, associated with rituals, to create awareness among people over it," news agency ANI quoted Singh as saying. The Minister of State for Human Resource Development said that it was the demand of the time to revisit people's beliefs. "People have beliefs, but it is the demand of today's time to revisit them. We must not do anything that affects the purity of Ganga," Singh said. The former Mumbai Police Commissioner also urged the priests to create awareness among people about it. Concerned with the pollution level in River Ganga, the Narendra Modi-led Government has launched a mega programme - Namami Gange Project - to make it clean. Namami Gange is an ambitious Union Government Project, which integrates the efforts to clean and protect River Ganga in a comprehensive manner. In its maiden budget, the government announced Rs 2,037 crore towards this mission. The project is officially known as Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission project or 'Namami Ganga Yojana'. This project aims at Ganga Rejuvenation by combining the existing ongoing efforts and planning under it to create a concrete action plan for future. (With inputs from ANI)