Swami Nigamanand, a disciple of Swami Shivanand, who had died on this day six years ago while fasting for over 100 days to save Ganga from the mining mafias, was remembered on his death anniversary at the Matri Sadan ashram at Jagjeetpur on Tuesday. Ganga lovers from different places gathered at the ashram premises to pay homage to the crusader for the cause of Ganga. On this occasion, Swami Shivanand appealed to the people to follow his ideals and come forward to save Ganga in the face of the dangers it has been facing.
While remembering his disciple who sacrificed his life for the cause he is now fighting for, the seer said that the young sanyasi’s sacrifice should be remembered by all. “The holy river on which Haridwar’s existence is dependent is facing grave danger,” he said. He further said that the Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat had shown his insensitivity when he was fasting. “Rawat called me on the fifth day of my fast when I had refrained from taking water,” he said. He alleged that Swami Nigamanand’s death has remained a mystery with no probe having been done to ascertain how he died.
Notably, while fasting at Matri Sadan since February 19 2011 against the illegal mining activities carried on by some stone crushers in the Ganga within the Kumbh area, he had been forcibly lifted by the district administration on April 27 the same year after his health had deteriorated on the 68th day of his fast. He had later been admitted at Jollygrant Hospital where he had died.
