DEHRADUN: As the auspicious month of 'Saawan' is here and Kanwar Yatris have been prohibited from entering Haridwar to collect 'Gangajal' from the sacred river akin to motherly status, Uttarakhand postal circle of India post has been delivering the 'Gangajal' since July 2016.
Sunil Kumar Rai, director of postal services, Uttarakhand Postal Circle said, "Till last year over 12 lakh deliveries of the holy water has been done to the door step of devotees across India for just Rs 30. Our aim is to provide the 'Gangajal' to devotees wherever they want."
The services assume more importance than ever with the state government suspending the yatra this year due to Covid 19 epidemic.
The state government has promised the delivery of the holy water at devotees' doorstep.
The department's 'Ganga Prahris' collect water from Gangotri, origin of the holy river after which process of purification and packaging in 250ml bottle starts.
Vaibhav Sahni, postal assistant in the circle who also bears the responsibility of the holy water project said, "The Gangajal is taken directly from Gangotri which is then brought to Uttarkashi post office. The water is purified through sedimentation and then bottling is done for transportation."
The holy water is then supplied to around 3000 post offices across 22 postal cricles of the country. India has total 23 postal cricles including Uttarakhand.
Workforce of over 30 men work more than 12 hours everyday to make the delivery of the holy water to the door step.
Collection work for the holy water is done only 4 months in a year. Demand almost doubles in the Hindu calendar month of 'Sawan' when the yatra and worship of Lord Shiva is considered auspicious.
"The transportation is done by our own departmental vehicles and other available vehicles but this year due to Covid 19, lockdown we are using our own transportation to deliver the 'Gangajal', " added the director.
Last month, more than 1 lakh bottles have been transported to different postal circles of India by the Uttarakhand Postal Circle.