Indian Holy Men Boycotting Ganges River - Say It's Too Polluted - AFP

Indian holy men or sadhus threatened Monday to boycott a major religious festival, in which millions of people wash away sins in the Ganges river, saying it was too polluted.

Thousands of sadhus in their trademark saffron-coloured clothes held protests for a second day Monday, demanding that the river be cleaned up before the next auspicious bathing day on Sunday, a Hindu leader said. "The water in (the) river is so dirty that no one can take a dip. It is dark red whereas the Ganges used to be bluish green," said Shankaracharya Vasudvanand Saraswati, who heads the main Hindu monastery in the holy city of Allahabad, where the festival is taking place.

"If the government takes no corrective measures we will have no option but to boycott the (Ardh Kumbh) festival," he told AFP by telephone.

Billed as one of the world's biggest human gatherings, the festival started last week with Hindus taking a dip at the confluence of two sacred rivers -- the Ganges and the Yamuna.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/2006/070108065558.x9ufef8y.html

Might as well declare the tradition over.