Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand’s fast to save the Ganga has now entered its 87th day. The Swami, earlier known as Prof. G.D. Agarwal heading the department of civil and environmental engineering at IIT Kanpur, is on a fast-unto-death at Matri Sadan ashram in Haridwar to press for his demand for the scrapping of all hydro projects on the Bhagirathi, Alaknanda and the Mandakini river basins.
Swami Shivanand, the founder and president of the Matri Sadan, who had travelled to Delhi to speak at a public hearing on rivers organised by Prof. Rajinder Singh, pointed out, “He is 82 years of age and has already lost over 15 kilos. He has become severely anaemic and the government needs to wake up and pay attention to his demands. We need to save both him and the Ganga.” The Matri Sadan has become the hub for the Save the Ganges movement and has witnessed forty fasts undertaken by Swami Nigmanand.