Not far from millions of Kumbh Mela pilgrims, two Hindu monks are on a hunger strike to save Ganga
The monks are protesting sand mining and the construction of dams and barrages on the river and its tributaries. Devotees on the banks of Ganga during the Kumbh Mela festival in Haridwar. | Prakash Singh / AFP
Millions of Hindu pilgrims have taken a dip in the holy Ganga in the past month, and millions more are expected in Haridwar, Uttarakhand for the next big dates of the Kumbh Mela festival – April 12, April 14 and April 27. Yet out of sight of the pilgrims, two Hindu monks are on hunger strike in an attempt to protect the holy, but increasingly threatened, river.