Some hundreds of Holy men and religious teachers have threatened to commit mass suicide during the three-month Ardh Kumb festival at Allahabad, which is the ’sangam’ three holy rivers of the Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati.

Kumbh mela is one of the world’s largest religious festivals scheduled to happen in next month. The holy men have threatened to do the act in the protest at the pollution of the Ganges, India’s sacred river.

More than six million pilgrims will be expected to attend the Ardh Kumb festival. The devotees will take a “holy dip” in the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati, the mythical river.

The government is consistently being asked for cleaning up the river, which devout Hindus revere as a goddess with healing powers.

Earlier in last month, a Hindu holy man, was caught attempting suicide in despair at the state of the river.

The threatening to commit mass suicide were announced at a joint meeting of holy men and religious teachers in Allahabad last month.

The attempts of cleaning process of the Ganges have been on going since 1985 when after the personal permission of the then prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi.

After spending more than £150 million in many action plans in the last 20 years, the holy river is still polluted to a high extent.

People living on the bank of this holy river say that the money is not the problem; the biggest problem is that the government lacks the will power and we do not know why?

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