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Millions Wash in Polluted "Holy" Water

11th February 2010

You can smell the river before you can see it. Tons of industrial and biological waste are dumped into its waters every year. However, this filthy river is revered as holy to millions around the world. It is the Ganges River, fabled to have descended as a goddess from heaven in order to purify the earth and its inhabitants. And this is where these millions believe they can wash their sins away.

From January to April this year, millions of people are making an arduous journey to the banks along the river in Hardwar, India. There, they will wade into the brown water, dip their faces into it and soak their hair in its mucky waves. The filth that sticks to their skin is just the unavoidable result of their spiritual cleansing ceremonies.

This months-long festival is called Kumbh Mela, and while there are similar festivals periodically at other locations along the Ganges, the Kumbh Mela occurs in Hardwar—which means "Gateway to God" in Hindi—only once every 12 years. This year's festival is expected to bring a record number of holy bathers—an estimated 60 million by the time it ends in April.

February 12 is the next major bathing date, according to festival organizers. Hermit-like sadhus, devoted holy men, will lead pilgrims down to the river bank to bathe. Devotees believe that anyone with a sickness will be healed by dipping in the river.

"Hundreds and thousands of people daily come here believing their sins will be washed away by bathing in the Ganges," writes GFA's correspondent in the area. "Please pray that they would know the real Savior who has the power to wash away their sins."

  The Ganges River originates in the state of Uttarakhand, India