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Mandir, Masjid, Gurudwara join hands to clean river in Uttar Pradesh

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12 Apr, 18 13:52
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In the small Maholi town in Sitapur district, Uttar Pradesh, people of different faith have come together for a common cause—to clean the polluted Kathina river

Maholi, a small town in UP is setting an extraordinary example where a temple, a mosque and a gurdwara, have joined hands to clean a polluted river while bringing their communities together

With inter-community violence reported from many parts of India in a society increasingly polarised on religious and caste lines, a small town in Uttar Pradesh is setting an extraordinary example where a temple, a mosque and a gurudwara have joined hands to clean a polluted river while bringing their communities together.

About 100 km from the state capital Lucknow is Maholi town in district Sitapur. Here lie an old Shiva and a Radha-Krishna temple along with Pragyana Satsang Ashram and a mosque, all at a stone's throw of each other.

Along the periphery of this amalgamated religious campus, passes a polluted river called Katrina, that merges into the highly polluted Gomti River, a tributary of the mighty but polluted Ganga.

Often used as dumping site by dozens of villages and devotees, the stink from Katrina was increasing daily. The solution—Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb (a term used for a fusion of Hindu and Muslim elements)—of Awadh.

“The river belongs to everyone. Hindus use it for ‘aachman’ (a Hindu ritual for spiritual purification), Muslims use it for ‘wazu’ or ablution,” said Swami Vigyanand Saraswati, head of the Pragyana Satsang Ashram, as he inspects the river stretch along with Muhammad Haneef, head of the mosque’s managing committee.

"The river belongs to everyone. Hindus use it for 'watchman' (a Hindu ritual for spiritual purification), Muslims use it for 'wazu' or ablution. Due to lack of awareness, people had been dumping solid and biowaste here and also doing open defecation. The situation was worsening. The only solution was to start cleaning it ourselves," said Swami Vigyanand Saraswati, head of the Pragyana Satsang Ashram, as he inspects the river stretch along with Muhammad Haneef, head of the mosque's managing committee.

Swami said that once the ashram and temple administration began rallying volunteers for the cleaning drive, the mosque also came around to help. Even Maholi's Sikh gurudwara committee came forward and brought along many volunteers from the Sikh community.

"Once the communities came together, the number of volunteers multiplied. The initiative has now become a kind of an environment-movement which is being driven by religious fervor and bonding. Watching our efforts, the local administration also offered help, and other unions like traders and Sikh gurudwara committee also joined hand for cleaning the river," Swami told IANS, pointing out the potential of possibilities when different communities join hands for good.





यह खबर निम्न श्रेणियों पर भी है: udaipur
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