Niharika Kulkarni\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Though this year\u2019s festivities have been marred by two separate, deadly crowd crushes, millions have turned out for the festival despite concerns of overcrowding and reports of \u201cunsafe\u201d levels of contamination in key bathing sites. <\/p>\n
A report from the Central Pollution and Control Board (CPCB), part of India\u2019s Environment Ministry, last month found high levels of coliform faecal bacteria in the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, despite the government touting sustainable initiatives and sanitation efforts. <\/p>\n
Uttar Pradesh\u2019s Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath denied the accuracy of the government report, insisting that the water was not just safe for bathing, but also for the Hindu ritual of drinking a handful after bathing. <\/p>\n
Attendees often submerge themselves fully, sometimes drinking or collecting the sacred water in containers. <\/p>\n
\u2018My sins are cleansed, but not my body\u2019<\/h2>\n
Sircar, the independent consultant from Delhi, said he bathed in the water at Sangam point \u2013 the confluence of the three rivers considered to be the most auspicious place to bathe and where most people take their dip \u2013 twice last week. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a concern because there is nothing I can do about the contamination in the water. In your mind you tell yourself, this part looks clean, spend a few minutes in, recite prayers and come out,\u201d said Sircar. <\/p>\n
\u201cI took a shower for sins and then another shower for the contamination,\u201d he laughed. \u201cSo you need a bath after the bath\u2026 My sins are cleansed, but not (my) body.\u201d <\/p>\n
Before the festival began, India\u2019s top environmental court directed the state and federal pollution boards to ensure the river water was clean enough to drink and bathe in. It called for increasing monitoring and sample collecting of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers and ensuring that no untreated sewage or solid waste would be discharged. <\/p>\n
But a report submitted by the federal pollution board on February 3 stated that faecal coliform levels, a key indicator of untreated sewage and faecal matter in water, were far above the safe limit set by the board of 2,500 units per 100 millilitres. <\/p>\n
At various parts of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers around Prayagraj levels were more than 1,000 over the safe limit, according to the report. <\/p>\n
Adityanath said his government was continually monitoring the water levels to ensure its quality. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have ensured that the water quality has been maintained,\u201d said Kumbh Mela officer Vivek Chaturvedi. <\/p>\n
Aishwary Sharma, 31, a finance professional in Delhi, said he took a dip in the rivers despite knowing it could be polluted. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think it is quite evident that the Ganga and Yamuna are not clean rivers,\u201d he said. \u201c(But) there are many things that are bad for you\u2026 The air we breathe is so toxic for our health\u2026 It is just another thing that is polluted that could have a harmful impact on my health.\u201d <\/p>\n
For others, their faith and participating in the sacred festival was more important than their concerns. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat (most people) are interested in is their devotion and religion and that they want to take that holy dip,\u201d said Sunny Parasher, 34, from Panchkula in Haryana state. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhere there is devotion, where there is religion, there is no question,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Kalpana Mishra, 55, a housewife from Prayagraj, said she would not take another holy dip after reading the pollution board\u2019s report. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does being a literate person mean if you hear all this and still decide to go?\u201d she asked. <\/p>\n
Exposure to faecal contamination can cause water borne diseases such as typhoid, diarrhoea, cholera, gastroenteritis, E-coli, skin disease and vomiting, health experts warn. <\/p>\n
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made cleaning the Ganges, India\u2019s holiest river, a priority since first taking office in 2014 \u2013 with billions of dollars spent or pledged on sewage treatment, cleaning surface waste and afforestation in the decade since. <\/p>\n
The Ganges, a lifeline for 400 million people who live and work along it, runs through 50 Indian cities that pump out about 3 billion liters of sewage every day \u2013 only a fraction of which is treated before it reaches the river, according to the World Bank. <\/p>\n
The Yamuna, a tributary of the Ganges, has also for decades been plagued by the dumping of toxic chemicals and untreated sewage. <\/p>\n
Ahead of the festival, Indian authorities touted this year\u2019s gathering as a \u201cGreen Kumbh,\u201d with sustainable initiatives such as a ban on single-use plastics, eco-friendly toilets, electric rickshaws and an army of 15,000 sanitation workers hired to clean up after major bathing days. <\/p>\n
The Ministry of Culture said in January that the festival had been \u201cmeticulously planned to uphold hygiene and ecological balance\u201d and would \u201cset an example for future large-scale events worldwide\u201d in environmental responsibility. <\/p>\n
Protecting and cleaning the river was even a major theme at a conference held on the sidelines of the festival with religious and environmental leaders coming together for the first time on how religious institutions can address the climate crisis. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf there is no water in the rivers, there is no Kumbh. We don\u2019t consider it water, we consider it nectar,\u201d said Indian spiritual leader Swami Chidanand Saraswati at the meeting. \u201cIf we all do not make efforts to protect it, then the next (Kumbh Mela) will be on mere sand.\u201d <\/p>\n