Varanasi ghats are languishing for proper maintenance, upkeep

Varanasi: About 100 ghats at the banks of holy river Ganga in ancient city of Varanasi are languishing for want of proper maintenance and upkeep.

The world-fame ancient city of Varanasi is known for its rich culture, varied heritage and temples besides its ghats which attract millions of doemstic and foreign tourist every year but its poor upkeep has left the locals sulking.

The city of Lord Shiva boasts of nearly 100 different ghats but the existence of these ghats is in danger as the staircases have been damaged making them holllow. ''If deterioration continued at this pace, these ghats will have to battle for their existence by 2025,'' says heritage expert Professor U K Chaudhary, the Founder Director of the Mahamana Institute of Technology for Management.

What is the problem?

• The ghats are becoming hollow due to the impact of Ganga waters.
• This can cause loss to human lives as ghats are widely used of holy bathing.
• The government has not taken any step in this regard.

Reasons:

• The level of ground water will increase with the decrease in water level of river Ganga.
• This situation will result in the erosion of silt and will increase the depth at ghats.
• The other reason is collection of sand on the other side of ghats for Turtle sanctuary, explains Professor Chaudhary.

What others think:

Vinod Nishad, the president of Nishad Seva Samiti says that ghats are the centre of attraction of our city but instead of proper conservation the district administration tends to ignore this issue.