Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday expressed concern over the deteriorating health of Ganga activist Sant Gopaldas, 36, who has been fasting for the conservation of the river for more than 110 days.
"Deteriorating health of Sant Gopaldas is a matter of concern for the nation. He has been sitting on fast since June 24 to stop mining in the Ganga. Sant Gopaldas represents the voice of Swami Sanand (Prof. G. D. Agarwal). This voice should remain loud and clear," Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.
GD Agarwal passed away at at the All India Institute of medical Sciences in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, on Thursday, 111 days after he began a fast for a pollution-free Ganga. He was 86.
Sant Gopaldas began his fast against mining in the Ganga river bed first in Badrinath and had been fasting at Triveni and Bag ghats of the Ganga in Rishikesh since June 24.
On Friday, Rahul Gandhi had hailed Agarwal for his contribution towards saving the Ganga and vowed to take his fight forward. Agarwal had begun his hunger strike on June 22 demanding government measures to save the Ganga. He died of a heart attack.
Agarwal, also known as Swami Gyanswaroop Sanand in his later years, had been a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur and served on the Central Pollution Control Board.
A day before Agarwal died, Union Water Resources and Ganga River Rejuvenation Minister Nitin Gadkari said almost all his demands had been met and he had written a letter to the activist to give up his fast.
(With PTI inputs)
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