‘By The Time They’re Done, Banaras Will Be Dead’

From praising Narendra Modi in the run-up to the 2014 general election to publicly criticising his vaunted ‘Ganga Sutra’ now, Vishwambhar Nath Mishra, who teaches electronics at BHU and is also the high priest of the Sankat Mochan Temple, has come full circle. In a chat with Pragya Singh, he explains why he is opposing plans to convert Varanasi into another Kyoto:

Why are you opposed to the central government’s plans for Varanasi?

To talk about turning Varanasi into Kyoto, to talk of making it a heritage city, is to betray complete ignorance of what Banaras needs and doesn’t need. Why redefine living heritage, which is Banaras, as a created, artificial “heritage city”? Banaras has always been a spiritual centre. You are also lowering its standard if you call it [just] a religious centre. Our idea has always been to develop the city by letting the new evolve and letting go of the old when needed. It’s a dynamic process that can’t be achieved through demolitions.

Why are Varanasi people wary of demolitions?

We have seen what happened when the boundary conditions of Kashi Vishwanath temple were set so that the ordinary pilgrim could not even access it easily. His slippers and other belongings were taken off at one gate and he made his exit through another gate, far away. Tell me, what kind of “security” is this? How is your system in tune with the ecosystem of this place? I don’t see why any government of authority should speak of selling or acquiring the land or buildings of those living around that temple. But nobody in Banaras seems to be speaking out against all this. If they [Banarasis] are wary, it is because they know that the narrow lanes and the crowds are part of its beauty. What do the demolition squads want to achieve—an open field where there once was an ancient city? Here is what I believe: There is no question of complaining about crowds in Varanasi, or its narrow streets. Our belief is that everybody who comes to this town comes here thanks to Shiva's grace, and stays with his grace too. Then how can one be forced out of one’s home here?

But they seem to be making development plans for the city...

No, they want to bring the mall culture here. I have absolute clarity here: Without a clean Ganga there cannot be any development of this city. Core Banaras needs to be preserved, it also needs to be renewed and maintained. You cannot abruptly change the old parts of the city. Here we have an ancient culture in its living form. I want to emphasize on the fragility of this here. Banaras is like a box with a sign that says ‘Handle With Care’. In fact the mall culture will not even suit Banaras. The ambience of this place will reject it.

What is your proposal for a clean Ganga and Varanasi’s development around that idea?

After a series of twists and turns over decades, it turned out that the central pollution control board has designated Banaras as a Class B town, with designated industries and effluents [allowed to discharge effluents] of that level. Now, I want to only add that the pollution in this water of the Ganga cannot be anything less than what is required of a holy river. The Fecal Coliform [bacteria] should be at zero. That is the only way in which the river’s prescribed role in the scriptures can be fulfilled. I mean that visiting, touching, consuming, to bathe, all required rituals must be possible. Basically, that’s when the culture of Banaras will evolve around the river, as it was meant to. The CPCB will have to take into account that the river is a living deity and plan accordingly.

And how is the river’s condition today?

Its condition is such that it cannot sustain either aquatic life nor is it suited for any other ritual purpose, upstream or downstream, in Banaras. Downstream, at the confluence of Varuna and Ganga, the fecal coliform level is between 1 and 1.5 million mg when it should be below 500 mg to sustain aquatic life, along with [meeting] other conditions. It is around 50000 mg at upstream Ghats. Now tell me, what is the meaning of building shopping malls by breaking down heritage structures or demolishing the odd un-authorized construction, in this context? The river water had turned septic and the politicians are spreading a myth, an illusion, of local spring cleaning. The whole of the Ganga is polluted and wherever there is a major sewerage system along the river the conditions are acute. What the city needs, along with all others along this river, is a modern sewerage system.

And why isn’t this happening while there’s much talk of other developments?

You see, the river’s state is a diagnosed condition. On this nobody can argue with us. Now they [referring to the BJP and water resources minister Uma Bharti] can get angry, they can scream and shout, but they are still only talking about doing cosmetic surgery. Without Ganga, if you talk about development of Banaras then I reject it, I have nothing to do with it. Forty to sixty thousand people bathe daily in these waters. Those people who do this are the carriers of the living tradition that this city represents, not demolition squads.

What is your suggestion to Modi and the government?

They must not make money a consideration in cleaning the Ganga. In that spirit they must get down to Ganga-cleaning. You see, it is like a cellophane tape wound up around itself. You really cannot tell where the last bit is, which you can lift up and start pulling the tape you need. Similarly, the Ganga’s situation is so complex that one cannot determine easily where to begin cleaning. But exactly at every point you are stuck at, science has already given you so many answers: You know that the sewage treatment plant needs to get going. You know that the technology used in the current one, while it processes only 100 MLD of the 400 MLD generated daily, is ineffective against Coliform. So, you know you need new plants and post treatment plants and that the water purified to different degrees can be used for various purposes: Agriculture, fish farms, by municipal bodies and so on. What is the point of holding on to junk yard-like treatment plants that don’t work?

So you don’t support other plans, like the metro?

Look, if all the projects that are being announced for Banaras are launched, the metro, monorail, highways, ring roads, and so on, considering most of them are supposedly to run from Lanka [BHU] to Sarnath, by the time they get done Banaras will be dead. What they must do is define a green belt, build drainage systems in villages—this will at least end the constant squabbles over water systems in rural Banaras. They must declare no new constructions will take place in certain areas—but beforehand, not retrospectively. Now they are organizing ‘Subah Banaras’ type of cultural events, but the point of such events is to celebrate and enjoy the sunrise of this city by the river. If you build a ten-storey building along the river, then you won’t see a sunrise, you’ll see the building.

Then you [BJP] bring in an ordinance to acquire land. If this will not destroy the already stringent law which was meant to protect people who needed such protection, then tell me, what will? What they are proposing is commonplace exploitation rather than development.

What about dredging the river to raise its water level? That will encourage revenue from the river and nobody loses.

I was at a recent meeting in Delhi where many including union minister Gadkari were present, where all these plans were being chalked out. The fact is that their focus is all on cruises and ferries and transportation of fuel for electricity and things like that. They also discussed dredging the river from Haldea to Allahabad, to make the river 45 meters wide and 5 meters deep. The larger goal here is to install, at every 100 km, a barrage. This is absolutely unacceptable because from a living river you will turn the Ganga into a series of 16 ponds filled with sewage. Look at their priorities from the way the money has been allocated: Uma Bharti has got, for Namami Ganga, Rs.2037 crore. And dredging will get Rs 4,300 crore. So, where is the priority, transporting coal and building barrages or cleaning the river?

Isn’t it too early to start criticising the Modi government on performance?

They themselves say that they are making efforts, all we are saying is, why aren’t you implementing any of those efforts? Nothing has come here in terms of actual resources. It is 7-8 months, kuch toh shuru hona chahiye...some work must at least begin. Uma Bharti says, after four months of holding charge, that 5000 former soldiers will guard the Ganga. Tell me, are they going to drink the 400 MLD waste generated daily or shoot anyone who bathes in the water? In the end they will have to find an engineering solution to the river’s pollution. Just by getting angry at hearing this is not going to stop this: An engineering solution will have to be found, and this fact nobody can change.

A shorter, edited version of this appears in print