New Delhi, Apr 18 (UNI) The global pandemic of Coronavirus may have caused panic across the country, but only half of the 46 districts along the banks of the Ganges, which flows through five states, have cases of Corona infection.
This is less than two per cent of the total cases in the country whereas more than 15 per cent of the country's population lives on the banks of the Ganges.
According to data from the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry, only 24 of the 46 districts along the banks of the Ganges in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal have reported cases of Corona infection.
A total of 230 cases of Corona have been detected so far in 24 of these districts while there are 13,835 active cases of the pandemic in the country and 480 people have died.
According to an estimate, more than 15 per cent of the country's population lives in these 46 districts, while about 40 per cent of the country's population is connected to the Ganges in some form or other due to various reasons.
The population of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal is 36 per cent of the total population of the country.
Surprisingly, after the first phase of the lockdown was declared, most of the thousands of labourers who rushed to their villages from Delhi, Punjab among other states, hail from the areas along the Ganga and after 18-20 days of their return, there are no increased cases of Corona infection in these areas.
The Ganges merges into the sea after flowing for more than 2,500 kilometers from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. Three of the seven districts in Uttarakhand, the first state to come into the Ganges flow area, are affected by Corona. So far 24 cases have been found in these districts.
The Ganga passes through 25 districts in Uttar Pradesh where 175 cases of corona have been reported in 16 districts. Bihar has 12 districts in the Ganges region. Of these, 31 cases of corona have been found in five districts. The Ganga passes through Sahibganj in Jharkhand and Malda district of West Bengal and not a single case of Corona has been reported in both the districts.
Although there has been no study that directly links the Ganga and the infection of Corona virus, but thousands of years of recorded history and legends are full of stories about the medicinal properties of Ganga water.
Abhay Mishra, a water expert who studies rivers and especially the Ganges, says that there is a virus in the Ganges water called the Ninja virus. Ninja means warrior. According to Mr Mishra, these Ninja viruses were found in abundance in the Ganges river till around hundred years ago. Scientists call them bacteriophages and the people of India know it as the 'Gangatva' of Ganga. 'Gangatva' is the element of Ganga which does not allow its water to get spoiled.
According to Mr Mishra, until just 20 years ago, Ninja virus was present in the six original tributaries of the Ganges. Various scientific studies established the presence of the virus in Bhagirathi, Bhilangana, Alaknanda, Mandakini and Pindar.
The construction of the Tehri Dam at the confluence of Bhagirathi and Bhilangana nearly two and a half decades ago led to sinking of the confluence by the lake created for the dam, which resulted in a reduction of bacteriophage present in the Ganges and its capacity to clean dirty water. There is still 'Gagatva' present in upstream Bhagirathi.
Mr Mishra says that the cause of deterioration in Ganga is the obstruction in its free flow.
About the use of Ganga or the Ninja virus in the Corona virus disease, Mr Mishra said no such experiment has been done, but to know the effect of the Ninja virus, example of Cholera pandemic in Bihar and West Bengal about 125 years ago can be taken.
He said that in the Cholera affected area, there was a fear that a person can get infected by just touching the corpse. People used to throw away the bodies or bring them from a safe distance and throw them into the Ganga river.
At that time, British scientist David Hawkins, who came to India for research, suspected that Cholera could spread everywhere along with the water of the Ganges. If this was true then the spread of the epidemic should be quite fast, he thought and on research, he found that cholera bacteria could not survive in the Ganges -- something in the water finished the bacteria.
After this, the research progressed and it was found that bacteria of serious diseases like dysentery, meningitis and tuberculosis also could not survive in the Ganges water.
Mr Mishra explained that Dr Hawkins' research was going on and in the meanwhile, antibiotics were invented. People were told by doctors that every disease should be treated with antibiotics. This discovery pushed back the research on the Ganges water. People consumed so much of the antibiotics that it stopped affecting the bacteria that spread the disease.
Now scientists and doctors are again engaged in researching the power of Ganga water, but the truth is -- today, water of Ganga water in Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna and Kolkata cannot kill any bacteria. This is the situation where the Ganges is polluted or the water flow has stopped.
Expectations have not ceased where the water is still flowing.
Research from IMTech, one of the CSIR laboratories, has found that there are about 20-25 viruses in the Ganges water, which are used to treat many diseases like tuberculosis (TB), typhoid, pneumonia, cholera-diarrhea, dysentery and meningitis.
Dr Devendra Swaroop Bhargava, a scientist associated with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee, has researched that Ganga's 'Gangatva' is still present in the river's base. He said that Ganga has the ability to absorb oxygen. Some research has also found that bacteriophages are also effective on some viruses.
Dr Bhargava, who has researched the virus, claims that chlorine is the most efficient defense against the virus in the Corona crisis, so its use should be increased at the government level.
The Centre for Micro Biological Studies, in its study on Ganges water, found that 17 types of viruses were present in the waters of Rudraprayag and Devprayag, which are capable of killing bad bacteria, while the Ganga water of these places is not considered completely pure.
Mr Mishra said that the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (Neeri) had done a huge research on the capabilities of Ganga water and found that Ganga water has the power to kill 20 diseases, but this report was not allowed to be published under pressure from antibiotic companies.
And the scientist involved with this research was also retired prematurely.
Mr Mishra said the way, United States and China are making statements on the Corona crisis, it is a clear indication that in future, there may be many more biological attacks on the mankind which nobody knows of.
Clanging of plates and lighting a lamp is a matter of public faith but investment in virus research is the need of the hour, he maintained.
Discussing about the report of the cleanliness of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers during the last 25-day nationwide lockdown, Mr Mishra said in this situation, the amount of bacteriophage present in the Ganga must have increased manifold because their growth is very fast but to maintain this momentum and re-establish the Ganga, free flow is very important.
He said that some historical facts which we often repeat like an anthem - like Mughal emperor Akbar used to drink Gangajal or the British used to take the Ganges water in sea journey so that the drinking water does not go bad for months - but little discussion was held on its scientific aspects.
But, now an opportunity has come that an attempt should be made to understand the scientific aspect of Ganga water in the wake of Corona spread and establish it publicly.
The government, he said, should not lose such an opportunity and before the lockdown ends on May 3, the district administrations along the banks of Ganga should jointly take up the issue. They should completely plug the polluting points in the Ganga.
The society should take advantage of the unique opportunity of this lockdown and realize Nation's dream of making Ganga pure and 'aviral', he pointed out.
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