Is it Ganga or some other water flowing at Haridwar? Uttarakhand govt says, it's not the holy river

Haridwar, Apr 11: The water flowing at the world famous Har Ki Pauri ghat at Hardwar is not Ganga, but Aapoorti Dhara in the irrigation department records of Uttarakhand government, an RTI (Right to Information) reply has revealed. This revelation comes in the wake of Uttarakhand High Court at Nainital ordering the Haridwar Development Authority do demolish all temporary and permanent structures, including ashrams, buildings and dharamshalas located within 200 metres of the Har Ki Pauri, to save Ganga from pollution. This has raised the heckles of the sadhus staying in Haridwar, who say that during the British period, after strenuous efforts of Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, the water from the Ganga had to be diverted to Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar for the daily evening Ganga Aarti to be performed. On July 27, 2010, an RTI application was filed and the state irrigation department replied that the water flowing at Har Ki Pauri and Brahma Kund was not Ganga, but Aapoorti Dhara, as there are no records of Ganga flowing at this particular spot in government records. The RTI reply said, the Ganga upstream of Bhimgoda has been diverted to meet the Upper Ganga Canal, and the Har Ki Pauri has the Aapoorti Dhara, not the Ganga.In February this year, the Juna Akhada filed another RTI, and got the same reply. This has left the sadhus infuriated. On February 26 this year, the Uttarakhand High Court at Nainital directed the Haridwar Development Authority to remove the population residing within 200 metres of Har Ki Pauri, and demolish all structures in the vicinity.Says Chandrasekhar Bhatt, vice-chairman, Haridwar Development Authority: "Why are you (media) making it an issue out of nothing? These people gherao us day in and day out."Dr Santosh Kumar Roy, a scientist at the Wadia Geological Institute, Dehradun, says, the entire route of Ganga right from Gangotri to Haridwar and beyond should be mapped out and the issue should be resolved once and for all.Har ki Pauri is the precise spot where the Ganga leaves the mountains and enters the plains. The ghat is on the west bank of Ganga canal, through which the Ganga is diverted just to the north. Har ki pauri is also the area where thousands of pilgrims converge daily, and it runs into millions during the Kumbh Mela and Ardh Kumbh Mela. Har Ki Pauri was believed to have been built by King Vikramaditya in the 1st century BC in memory of his brother Barthrihari, who had come to meditate here on the banks of Ganga. In Hindu mythology, Brahma Kund is considered to be the spot where the drops of amrit (nectar) fell from the Amrit Kalash (pitcher of nectar), carried by Lord Vishnu's bird Garuda after the Samudra manthan (churning of ocean). One of the two major dams on Ganga, the Bhimgoda, was built in 1840s by the British, to divert Ganga water to the Upper Ganga canal, which irrigates surrounding lands. The headworks of the Ganga canal system are located in Haridwar. The Upper Ganga Canal was opened in 1854 after the work began in April 1842 because of the famine of 1937-38.