India, Feb. 20 -- For millennia, the Ganga has been a metaphor for purity for the faithful in India. Almost as a corollary, conversations around its pollution and conservation are marked by either concern -- among policymakers, civil society and activists -- regarding the problem or the nonchalance of the millions whose piety impels them to taking a dip in its waters at various designated sites, round the year. The Kumbh/Maha Kumbhs only add to this dichotomy.

Now a row has erupted over water quality at Sangam in Prayagraj, the site for ritual bathing during the Maha Kumbh. On Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh (UP) chief minister Yogi Adityanath declared the water at Sangam fit for ritual drinking just days after the National Green Tribunal (NGT)...