Over his 45 years, Siddique Ur-Rahman, a Bangladeshi rice farmer, has watched as his world has been gradually swallowed by water.

Deeply touched by the worsening state of rivers in the country, Sardar Gurmeet Singh, an environmentalist, today embarked upon an unprecedented trek of 600-odd kms to Har-ki-Pauri in Haridwar. His motto: Save water, save life!

The solitary trekker has plans to walk 10 hours a day and if the weather remains fair, hopes to reach his destination in the next 13 days.

The project requires faster implementation
by

AMITA VERMA
The scare of crocodiles has driven devotees away from the ghats of the Ganga river in Hardwar.

Two crocodiles have been sighted upstream in the Ganga river in the past two days. The first crocodile was seen by devotees taking a holy dip at the Birla Ghat in the Ganga on Saturday and as the news spread across the town, panic gripped the people.

When documentary filmmaker Sudhesh Unniraman, 38, was approached by a producer from AIM Television to document the plight of the Ganga, he knew there was not much research to be done.

As part of a fresh initiative to check pollution of the Ganga river, the Ganga Mahasabha, a voluntary organisation in Varanasi, has asked people not to immerse Durga idols, painted with artificial colours and chemicals, in the river during Navratri this year.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be chairing the first meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority on October 5, almost a year after it was constituted. The authority was constituted for the comprehensive management of the basin.

Days after the BJP asked Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi to