LUCKNOW: The rising waters of the holy river Ganga amid heavy and incessant rain have disrupted life at Varanasi’s historic ghats, with cremations moving to rooftops and boat services being suspended.
At one of Varanasi’s oldest cremation grounds, Manikarnika Ghat, cremations are being performed on rooftops as the water has inundated the lower portions.
As per members of the Dom community, which performs the cremations, there is currently no queue of dead bodies for cremations, but if the number rises, the situation could become challenging.
Located beside the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Manikarnika sees around 100 bodies brought for cremation daily, with rituals continuing round the clock.
The rising river has also made it harder for families arriving from other districts and states to perform the last rites of their relatives.
In the wake of the suspension of boat services, Varanasi Boat Association’s organisational secretary Shambhu Sahani said the water level had been rising continuously for the past week and boat movement had become risky.
The local boatmen claim that the river was flowing very close to the danger mark. However, the suspension of boat operations has hit businesses, including tea stalls and other vendors.
There are around 2,800 small and large boats operating on the river. “Around 3 lakh families have been hit by the rainfall,” adds a boatman.
ACP Atul Anjan Tripathi said the water level of the river stood at 68.35 metres on Thursday and was steadily moving towards the danger mark of 71.26 metres.
The officer said boat services were kept suspended keeping the safety of visitors who thronged the city during Shrawan in mind.
He said a decision on resuming boat operations would be taken once the water level and the flow of the river return to normal.
The entire riverfront of Varanasi is in the grip of floods, with stretches of pathways submerged and movement between several historic ghats becoming increasingly difficult.
Even the famous Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat is being conducted on the rooftop as the water level rises. The rising waters have submerged parts of the lower platforms, forcing organisers to repeatedly move the ceremony further inland and onto higher ground.
Authorities are monitoring the Ganga’s water level and have stepped up surveillance along the riverfront.
The Jal Police, teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) have been deployed at the ghats and are conducting round-the-clock patrolling.
People have been urged to avoid flooded and submerged stretches and stay away from deep water.
However, around 1 lakh people, mostly Kanwariyas, are visiting the ghats every day.
