Today, 28th September 2023, is Anant chaturdashi. I am in Panchkula. It is 6pm, as I do everyday, I start my walk towards the Ghaggar bridge. It takes 20 mins at normal pace to reach the Ghaggar bridge. Today it took me 27 mins. 7 mins more, why? Because there were serpentine queues all along the way. Huge traffic jams, kms long. People were in trucks, trailers, tempos, cars, scooters, bikes and even on foot to reach River Ghaggar for Ganpati visarjan.
As I neared the river, blaring horns, loudspeakers at full volume, people singing, laughing, talking, young boys speeding on motorbikes can be experienced all around. What the eyes saw was even more interesting. People were slowly walking towards the river bank, right upto the middle of the river. The way to the river is full of rocks, stones, pebbles, is slippery, uneven, full of gravel. There were stray dogs along the way and cattle here and there. Sunset happens around 6pm during September and now it was getting darker, with not a single light on the river bank, it started getting pitch dark.
This did not deter even a single person from going upto or into the river. All that mattered to them was that they had come to immerse Ganpati in the river and they be able to do that. What they did not realise was that they had been stuck in traffic for a long time, that walking on the river bed which is unsafe, that with not light around, it has become even more unsafe for them, that they may slip in the river, there maybe snakes around, they may fall on stones and hurt themselves. Old, young, children male, females, rich, not so rich, everyone had just one thought in their minds to be able to immerse Ganpati in the river.
Whatever these people had in their hands like flowers, fruits, colours, coconuts, polythene, plastic bags were left behind om the river bank as there is not even a single dustbin there.
After visarjan, a truck was stuck on the way back from the river bed to the road. Earlier narrow and risky way back to the road was now narrower, riskier and it was dark all around. It would take some time for people from Chandigarh, Mohali, Derabassi, MDC, Mani Majra, Zirakpur, Baltana, Dhakoli and Panchkula to reach home and even longer would it take for the immersion ghats to be made on the Ghaggar River Bank at various places in Panchkula. But we need IMMERSION GHATS.
We need immersion ghats, so that 1) Devotees can safely immerse eco friendly idols or havan samgri.
We need immersion ghats, so that 2) River Ghaggar and its banks stay clean and not be full of plastic and polythene
We need Immersion ghats, so that 3) Devotees do not enter into the river to immerse idols, which is highly unsafe
We need immersion ghats, so that 4) our cultural rituals can be carried out without harming the environment
We need immersion ghats, so that 5) there is proper way of waste disposal
What I learnt today was that with Immersion ghats at at least 3-4 places along the river bank in Panchkula, It would be safer for people who come to immerse idols. Also, it will ensure the river stays clean. Thus through this open letter to the respected DC of Panchkula, I, Tapasya Sharma, request and suggest to get immersion ghats which are well light, have toilet facilities, proper parking, dustbins and a composting pit be constructed to ensure safety of the devotees and to Save River Ghaggar.
Regards
Tapasya Sharma
Save River Ghaggar
Panchkula