After idols, volunteers find sacred texts discarded in Rohtak canals

In a troubling trend, volunteers of Suno Nahron Ki Pukar—an organisation working to educate people for keeping canal clean in Rohtak—have found that in addition to idols and images of gods and goddesses, people are also discarding sacred religious scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Shiva Purana, Krishna Purana, and other holy texts into the canals. The practice not only disrespects these revered scriptures but also contributes to the pollution of water bodies that supply drinking water.

Jasmer Singh, founder and chief patron of the organisation, revealed that more than 100 sacred scriptures and nearly 200 other religious books were found either inside or near the canals close to the Delhi Bypass over the past several months.

“Our organisation has been raising awareness about keeping the canals clean for the past three years and 10 months, but people continue to dump religious materials, food, and other waste due to their religious belief. The act severely pollutes canal water, which is eventually supplies to households for drinking,” he said.

Jasmer added that the volunteers handle the recovered religious texts with utmost respect and care. “These books are carefully preserved and, whenever possible, handed over to individuals who wish to read them. In many instances, especially when water levels in the canals are low or dry, ancient religious scriptures wrapped in plastic bags have been discovered. These are retrieved, dried, and stored responsibly, he added.

In addition to aged and weathered texts, the volunteers have also recovered many scriptures in near-new condition.

“Among the scriptures recovered so far are 45 copies of the Bhagavad Gita, eight Sunderkand path books, 10 copies of Ramcharitmanas, five texts on Shiv Upasana and the Maha Shiv Puran, along with a wide variety of other sacred books, including Shani Mahima Granth, Durga Stuti, Santmat Prakash, Sant Marg, Gyan Ganga, Avatar Vani, Mera Satguru, Amrit Vachan, Geetanjali, Piyush Krishnayan, Bhajan Sagar, Hanuman Chalisa, Puj Granthi, and Shuddh Ramayan, as well as several books containing aartis and devotional hymns,” Jasmer added.

Haryana Tribune