Pledge to save sacred Bashistha river

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, May 23: Two NGOs and the Basistha Mandir Committee have pledged to save the Bashistha river that is at stake from the environmental point of view.

On the occasion of Intertiol Biodiversity Day on Monday Voice of Environment, North East WetLand and the Basistha Mandir Committee, Guwahati carried out a plantation drive on the Basistha Mandir premises in the city in presence of mandir committee secretary Amiya Sharma, president Alkesh Sam Kashyap and others.

North East WetLand president Gunjan Sharma, social worker and advocate Mohara Choudhury from Voice of Environment other mandir committee members and priests of the temple also took part in the plantation drive.

An awareness meeting-cum-discussion session was also held after the drive. The session observed one-minute silence to condole the death of Union Environment Minister Anil Madav Dave. The session had a discussion on the threat to the sacred Basistha river which under threat from the ecological point of view.

It is decided now that the team will start a ‘mission to save the Basistha river’ by creating awareness in a scientific and technical way. It is also discussed how the overall eco-tourism prospects can be improved.

During the meeting Alkesh Sam Kashyap has raised the issue of river sustaibility of ‘Basistha Ganga river’  as the temple is around 1000 years old and having mythological importance, needing proper conservation strategies to save the holy stream river flow.

Mohara Choudhury said as the theme of Intertiol Biodiversity Day 2017 is biodiversity and sustaible eco-tourism so there is an immediate need of proper magement of eco-tourism spot in terms of proper sanitation, hygiene and other environmental aspects on the temple premises. Gunjan Sharma said the temple is rich in biodiversity and mythological impertinence, both regiol and tiol aspects, and hence there is need of positive step to save this holy place.