India is a country covered in rivers, there are seven major rivers (Indus, Brahmaputra, Narmada, Tapi, Godavari, Krishna and Mahanadi) along with their numerous tributaries. The Ganga River, which supplies water to 40% of India’s population and sustains one of the planet’s most fertile and heavily populated regions, is the lifeblood of the nation. The river deposits fertile soil along its shores as it flows, carrying material that is rich in nutrients.
An ancient Ganges waterway called the Adi Ganga-Tolly Nullah flows over the southern faces of Kolkata’s urban area. It passes across the city’s periphery before coming together with the Bay of Bengal. Although the river’s socioeconomic importance is mentioned in a variety of mediaeval indigenous writings, including The Mangal Kavyas, and colonial chronicles, the river currently serves mainly as a landfill, like most rivers in South Asia. Adi Ganga, however, has intrinsic importance that goes beyond its historical significance because it is essential to the city’s ecological and sanitary management. The river’s ability to maintain its purity and holiness in the face of severe pollution makes for an intriguing element of research.
Due to its history being intertwined with the folk and religious culture, the Kalighat stretch had a thriving cultural community. On the Adi Ganga’s ghats, Kalighat is home to a Medieval-era temple dedicated to Goddess Kali. According to Indian mythology, the toe of Goddess Sati is housed in one of the shaktipeeths. As a result, the ghats became well-known as a destination for Hindu pilgrims. The river is still crowded with worshippers who come to bathe in the aim of cleansing their spirits of earthly obligations.
The Kalighat temple became the centre of social and cultural life as a result. Around the temple and the river, many different economic enterprises developed, many of which were intrinsically linked to the cultural values of the river. For instance, century-old occupations like selling incense, pottery, and even prostitution are still in demand.
Many locals have constructed stairs leading to the river where they privately offer morning religious prayers after purchasing land adjacent to the river and the temple. Currently, marginalised communities are concentrated around the banks. They first moved there 50–70 years ago, primarily during and after the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and during partition. The prostitutes who sought refuge on the ghats centuries ago still live in a prominent area of the stretch, providing an intriguing background for the intertwined sacred-sin assemblages.
The river is not entirely pure at this point, despite the sacredness associated with it. The river is severely polluted by the city’s sewage discharge as well as the disposal of inorganic garbage. From miles away, the waterbody’s awful odour gives away its location, providing a window into the daily routines of the locals. The ecology and history of the Adi Ganga are in danger. Old people and squatters alike who live along her banks mourn the loss of the once-pure Adi Ganga, which is now a dismal grey-green colour.
Despite years of opposition, development on a portion of the Adi Ganga for Kolkata’s metro railway started in the early 2000s. Environmentalists, river specialists, and community activists filed legal petitions, arguing that the construction would be the river’s death knell. The anticipated eviction campaign for the settlers on the Kudghat-Garia stretch was opposed by local groups. However, the idea was approved because of an outdated colonial legislation that granted the railways supremacy over the nation’s water supplies. The riverbed was used as the foundation for 300 pillars. The most marginalised populations were left without shelter and security as a result of the eviction of thousands of squatters.
Numerous historical documents and maps claim that the Adi (original) Ganga was the river’s primary channel when Kolkata was founded in the last decade of the 17th century and developed into a significant port during the British Empire. It ran by the well-known Kalighat temple and past Garia until arriving at Gangasagar, where the Ganga and the Bay of Bengal converge.
Near Sankrail in Howrah, a canal was constructed in the early 1750s to link the Hooghly and lower Saraswati rivers. This caused the majority of the water flow to shift westward, making the Hooghly the Ganga’s current main channel.
The Adi Ganga’s history is one of encroachment in addition to being utilised as a garbage dump, notably in and around Kolkata. The West Bengal government acknowledged in a report to the High Court in 1998 that there were 7,851 illegal structures with about 40,000 residents in the 15.5 km stretch between Hastings (the confluence with the Hooghly) and Garia (where Tolly’s Nullah starts), as well as 90 temples, 69 godowns (goods storage depots), 12 cattle sheds, and others.
The Kolkata High Court mandated that all encroachments be removed within a month on April 24, 1998. According to a recent state government study, they are still present. In their most recent submissions to the eastern bench of the National Green Tribunal, the West Bengal Pollution Control Board and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation both acknowledged egregious encroachments within the Adi Ganga.
Encroachments were discovered to be more often than not when a crew from thethirdpole.net recently travelled along the Adi Ganga. Drains that discharge effluents into rivers are located on the riverbank-eating foundations of concrete homes. In addition, there are countless shanties on both banks of the Kolkata stretch alone, with improvised restrooms right next to the water. Cattle sheds, tiny factories, and even neighbourhood leisure centres along the riverbank frequently intersperse all of this. Where the water hyacinth does not cover the dark water, discarded polythene packets flutter about Metro rail pillars and do so. Nothing can mask the odour. Beyond Garia, it becomes worse. The river vanishes.
In Narendrapur and Rajpur-Sonarpur, there is no discernible river for around three kilometres. There are now concrete homes, community centres, and roadways in its stead. There are a few long, elongated ponds nearby with names like “Karer Ganga” (Kar’s Ganga), “Ghosher Ganga,” and so on.
An older local who wished to remain anonymous remarked, “Large-scale encroachment of the river bed started once the river flow had blocked and habitation had grown in the area. Since 1980s, this has accelerated. One of West Bengal’s towns with the quickest growth is Rajpur-Sonarpur”.
The likelihood that the garbage and encroachments that killed the Adi Ganga will be addressed in any meaningful way, however, doesn’t appear to be very high. “It’s a massive swindle; it’s a story of systematically murdering the river through encroachment, effluent discharge, and all kinds of conceivable degradation,” environmental campaigner Subhas Datta said of the almost 200 crore rupees that had allegedly previously been spent on cleaning it. Dattahas recently submitted a case to the National Green Tribunal on the deterioration of the Adi Ganga.
The Hooghly River’s major flow during the 15th and 17th centuries, the Adi Ganga, also known as Gobindapur Creek, Surman’s Canal, and (now) Tolly’s Canal, practically dried up due to natural causes (Roy 2005..
The significance of the river to people’s lives will be explained through the Hindu tale of the Ganges in Bengal. The Aswamedha Yajna (horse sacrifice) was carried out 99 times by Sagar, the ruler of Oudh and the 13th ancestor of Lord Rama as well as the 7th manifestation of Vishnu. Lord Indra, the monarch of heaven, who had already completed the yajna 100 times and acquired the title “Satamanna,” was envious at being replaced by Sagar and refused to allow him to undertake it one more despite his desperation. He then seized Sagar’s horse and hid it in a cave where the sage Kapilmuni was doing meditation.
In India, the Adi Ganga is revered as a holy river. Ancient books like Manasamangal of Bipradas Pipilai have made reference to it. The renowned trader Chand Saudagar navigated this river. Although Adi Ganga may have had a glorious past, its current state is truly appalling. It resembles little more than a foul, filthy sewer now. The causes are numerous. First and foremost, the responsible authorities and state government are to blame for their ongoing neglect. Constant population growth and a lack of planning during the urbanisation process are the other main causes. In the recent past, the immersion of the goddess Durga’s idol has accelerated the clogging process. The ghats along the Hoogly River are regularly monitored by the Pollution Control Board, whereas those along the Adi Ganga are frequently disregarded.
Billion Century Kali Ma use to take bath on Adi Ganga and the super natural things happen on the river bharati. The term Kalikata devi from the Kalighat Temple is thought to have inspired the name Kolkata. Over time, the river has gotten farther away from the temple. The temple is presently situated along the banks of Adi Ganga, a narrow canal that links to the Hooghly.