BIG NEWS
- LPG tanker Jag Vikram crosses Strait of Hormuz; first India-flagged vessel to transit after Iran-U.S. ceasefire
- Ritual for water purity backfires, 11,000 litres of milk poured into Narmada sparks environmental concern
- SIR phase two concludes across 12 states and Union territories, voter list records over 6 crore decline
- 'Shocked' SC summons police commissioner, IO on Apr 13 in Ghaziabad rape-murder case of minor
- Allahabad HC judge Justice Yashwant Varma, facing impeachment proceedings, resigns
- UP SIR: Over 84 lakh voters added in final list, total electorate rises to 13.39 crore
- Bengal polls: RG Kar victim's mother files nomination as BJP candidate from Panihati
- Calcutta HC grants bail to Saradha scam accused Suditpa Sen, set for release after 13 years
- RBI keeps policy rate unchanged amid inflationary pressure
- No exit polls from 7 am of April 9 till 6.30 pm of April 29: EC
Ritual for water purity backfires, 11,000 litres of milk poured into Narmada sparks environmental concern
Public Lokpal
April 11, 2026
Ritual for water purity backfires, 11,000 litres of milk poured into Narmada sparks environmental concern
Sehore: Nearly 11,000 litres of milk were poured into Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh’s Sehore district as part of a religious ritual, prompting environmentalists to flag its negative impact on the ecosystem.
This was done on the culmination of a 21-day religious event as part of a sanctification ritual concluded at Satdev village in Bherunda area, located about 90 km from the district headquarters, with a ‘mahayagna’ on Wednesday.
The milk was offered to the river as part of rituals and prayers for the purity of the waters, the well-being of pilgrims and prosperity, organisers said on Thursday.
They said the milk was brought in tankers to the riverbank and later poured into the flowing water amid chanting of mantras in the presence of a crowd of devotees.
However, environmentalists raised concerns over the practice, warning of its potential ecological impact.
“Such large quantities of organic matter can deplete dissolved oxygen in water, adversely affecting the river ecosystem. These impact local communities dependent on the river for drinking water and threaten aquatic life as well as domestic animals,” said environmentalist and wildlife activist Ajay Dube.
Religious offerings should be symbolic and mindful, he asserted.
Another environmentalist, Subhash Pandey, said 11,000 litres of milk acts as a significant organic pollutant.
“It is highly oxygen-demanding and can lead to oxygen depletion, aquatic mortality, eutrophication (process of plants growing on river surface) and loss of potability. These effects are predictable from dairy-effluent chemistry and have been documented in similar incidents worldwide,” Pandey said.
Narmada originates at Amarkantak in the state and traverses 1,312 km westward to Maharashtra and Gujarat, emptying into the Arabian Sea via the Gulf of Cambay.
It is the largest west-flowing river in the peninsula, passing through a rift valley, and acts as a crucial water source for irrigation in MP, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
PTI
