India, Dec. 7 -- Despite crores of rupees being spent on cleaning the Ganga under the Namami Gange programme, open defecation by slum dwellers along the banks of the holy river in various parts of Haridwar continues to contaminate the river. Lakhs of pilgrims from across the nation and abroad visit Haridwar for a holy dip in the Ganga, but the river continues to be contaminated due to open defecation.

The Namami Gange mission was launched to ensure the purity of the Ganga, and about Rs45,000 crore have been spent on it so far. Works under the project have brought about some improvement, but blatant gaps like open defecation along the banks of the Ganga in Haridwar still remain. The open defecation also contradicts the claims of the Uttar...