G. D. Agrawal
Guru das Agrawal, also known as Sant Swami Sanand and Sant Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand (20 July 1932 – 11 October 2018) was an Indian environmentalist, engineer, religious leader, monk, and professor. He was the Patron of Ganga Mahasabha founded by Madan Mohan Malviya in 1905. He is notable for a number of fasts undertaken to stop many projects on River Ganga. His fast in 2009 led to the damming of the Bhagirathi River being stopped. Agrawal died on 11 October 2018, after fasting since 22 June 2018, demanding the government act on its promises to clean and  save the Ganga. Early life. Born to a farming family in Kandhla, Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh in 1932, he studied in local primary and secondary schools and graduated in civil engineering from the University of Roorkee (now IIT Roorkee). While he was the member secretary of the Central Pollution Control Board during 1979–80, he was also a visiting professor for environmental engineering at the University of Roorkee. In July 2011, he became a Hindu sannyasi and was known as Swami Gyanswaroop Sanand. Environmental activism. Background. Despite numerous protests and representations by local citizens, a total of 6 hydroelectric power-plant  dams were planned, seeking clearance or already under construction, on a stretch of the Bhagirathi River's length. This run is from the river's source at the Gangotri Glacier to the remote town of Uttarkashi in the Himalayan foothills. In pursuit of its energy intensive agenda for economic growth, the Indian Government had hastily pushed hydroelectric generating projects on the river, in the process destroying what many describe as the traditional Indian ethos of worshiping and living in harmony with nature. 2009. Agrawal started a fast on 13 June 2009 at Uttarkashi. His demand was very limited and specific  i.e. to allow flow of the Ganges in its original channel in this stretch from its origin. This is the only stretch left where the Ganges can still be seen undisturbed by man. The free-running of the river is a crucial element of its sacred status. Before his fast began in January, Agrawal said, "The water ...(of the Ganges) is not ordinary water to a Hindu. It is a matter of the life and death of Hindu faith". Allegation by Uttarakhand Minister Diwakar Bhatt in press conference alleged that, "It may be that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of  the US or Pakistan's Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) are behind these so-called anti-hydro projects in Uttarakhand, as by doing so they are hampering development of the state and ultimately of India. So by that way they are traitors and should be opposed by people too." 2013. In mid-June 2013, Agrawal began his fast in the wake of inactivity of National Ganga River Basin Authority. He stopped taking water on 21 September as his fast entered 101st day. Due to Government's apathy towards Agrawal's fast, three members of National Ganga River Basin Authority, Rajendra Singh , Ravi Chopra and Rashid Siddiqui resigned. 2018. In February 2018, Agrawal sent an open letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to stop environmentally unfriendly projects and to ensure what he calls 'aviral' flow of the river in the upper stretches of the river Ganga. He reminded the prime minister that "It will be four years in May when the Central government will complete four years in office but nothing has been done so far for the cause of Ganga". Agrawal had mentioned in the letter that if no action is taken by Ganga Dussehra (22 June 2018 ), he will go on fast-unto-death. He wrote another letter to PM on 13 June. After receiving no response from the government, he began his fast on 22 June at Haridwar. On the 19th day of his fast, police evicted him from his fast venue to AIIMS Rishikesh. Based on a petition filed by Agrawal against forced eviction, Uttarakhand high-court stepped in and said he needs to be taken to hospital only if his health is in danger. The government responded to Agrawal's fast via Nitin Gadkari (Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation ) but it failed to resolve the impasse. Agrawal alleged that government is focussing on cleaning river Ganga whereas his holistic vision ensures 'aviral-nirmal' Ganga. On 13 August (53rd day of the fast), Agrawal was admitted to AIIMS again. On 9 October (109th day of the fast), he stopped drinking water and has refused to take medicine, water or any fluid/juice orally. However, he gave written consent to doctors for administering potassium orally and drip to provide 500ML saline fluid per day to maintain minimum fluid and electrolyte need of the body. On 11 October (111th day of the  fast), he died from starvation, aged 86. Dam stopped. Work on the Loharinag Pala Hydro Power Project was stopped when Agrawal came close to dying on the 38th day of his fast in protest of the harnessing of the river Bhagirathi. In a letter dated 19 February 2009 to Agrawal, the Ministry of Power stated that it had ordered immediate suspension of work on the Loharinag-Pala Hydropower Project on the Bhagirathi River. In response Agrawal ended his fast the next morning at 11:00 am. The Indian government agreed to speed up its inquiry into how electricity could be generated  without the flow of the Ganges being impeded. Agrawal's devotion to the River Ganges comes from his strong Hindu faith and his conviction that India is staring at an unprecedented ecological and cultural catastrophe. As a citizen and a patriot, he has made it his life's mission to recall India to its traditional reverence for nature and to share that wisdom with the "developed" world. His sense of duty allows him to do no less. National Ganges River Basin Authority. His campaign was taken up by leaders of the opposition party who called for stopping all dam constructions  upstream of the river. The Government of India was quick to commit itself to ensuring perennial environmentally acceptable flows throughout the river and also informing Agrawal of the same. The Government then went a step ahead and declared the Ganges a National River and set up the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) as an empowered planning, implementing and monitoring authority for the Ganges. On 4 November 2009, in New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, also the chairman of NGRBA, directed concerned officials to expedite setting up of a National Ganges River Basin Research Institute (NGRBRI). The Centre for Environmental  Studies and Technology (CEST), Banaras Hindu University was named as the research institute to act as knowledge centre for collection and analysis of all relevant data regarding the Ganges basin. The objectives of NGRBRI are: On 10 February 2010, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh, addressing the GangesYamuna summit organised by the Nehru Memorial Library and Museum said: "I have said in the Parliament that India is a civilisation of rivers, and it should not become a land of tunnels." He said some new projects on Bhagirathi River would not be allowed. "There are  no two opinions. There is just one mass opinion that the projects proposed on the river Bhagirathi, named Pala Maneri and Bhaironghati projects, will not be entertained any further by the government."