Experts, academics call for conservation of Ganga ghats in Kolkata

Experts, academics and citizens called for the conservation of Ganga ghats in Kolkata amid concerns over rapid urbanisation, erosion and pollution.  

At a seminar on “The Riverbank City: Kolkata and its Ghatscape” in Jadavpur University, the experts said on Thursday that the Ganga ghats in Kolkata were a living repository of India’s cultural and spiritual heritage of the community. They said rapid development and pollution were causing permanent damage to the Ganga river front that defines Kolkata’s identity and the country’s collective memory. 

There are several ghats along the river, starting from Mayer Ghat in Baghbazar in the north to Prinsep Ghat in the south, which are the living testimony of the colonial history of Kolkata and West Bengal. 

The ghats are a confluence of heritage architecture, trade, ferry crossings, festival immersions, religious ceremonies, and cremations, bringing together the city and its people right beside the historic Howrah bridge. 

“This river is a global heritage and the lifeline of Bengal. But untreated water being discharged into the Ganga from factories has decayed the condition of the water, and it started long back during the British rule. Initiatives like Ganga Action Plan and Namami Gange have helped improve the water quality over the years but the Coliform bacteria are still high, which is a challenge,” said Kalyan Rudra, river scientist and chairman of the West Bengal Pollution Control Board. He said they were trying to develop a more comprehensive plan to restore the river and its ghats that “speak history”. However, raising awareness among the common people was crucial to stop the disposal of household waste by locals into the river. 

Kaberi Roy from the Kolkata Port Trust or Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata (SMPK), which is the custodian of the Ganga ghats in Kolkata, said the recent projects undertaken in partnership with other stakeholders to restore the ghats had been a positive move towards conserving the city’s heritage. 

She referred to the collaboration between the Kolkata Port Trust and the Adani Ports to restore the historic Kumartuli ghat. Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd are set to work on Mayer Ghat and Surinam Ghat restoration. The Armenian ghat is set to be restored by Srijan Realty, and Chotelal Ki Ghat is set to be restored by the Taj Group. 

Telkal ghat and Nimtala Immersion ghat are next in line for restoration, according to official sources at the Kolkata Port Trust. 

Mass awareness

Two enthusiasts who run ‘The Ganges Walk’, a heritage walk along these iconic Ganga ghats, were also present at the event, shedding light on encroachment, lack of maintenance, pollution, and the lack of conservation of heritage. “We need mass awareness; there is restoration work, but there is not enough focus on the conservation of the heritage structures of the Ganga ghats,” said Atreyee Basak, co-founder of The Ganges Walk. 

However, multiple speakers raised questions about private entities working for the conservation and restoration of the historic Ganga ghats of Kolkata. They called for collaborations between conservation architects, archaeologists, researchers, and history experts to come together and ensure that the history of the ghats is not lost in the process of private entities modernising them.