Apr 24, 2006 :: Kali Bein flows again

The 160 km long river, Kali Bein in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab has been revived by 6 year long efforts of Sant Balbir Singh Sancherwal. Five centuries ago Guru Nanak took a dip in it, attained enlightenment and went on to found the Sikh religion. In the reign of Akbar the river was brick lined and the Gurdwara at Sultanpur Lodhi stands on its banks.

Yet in 2000, it was a mere sewage. Villages and towns had been dumping their waste and a railway factory in Kapurthala, its effluents. Weeds and debris made it a cesspool. That’s when Sancherwal jumped in for a different kind of dip: to awaken the people. He began cleaning it single handedly until his example and narrations of history, drew hundreds of followers to the task.

Today, the river’s banks have been raised, inflows of waste, plugged, the river-bed desilted and flowering plants alid along its length. Kali Bein is clear and - flows! UNI reports that, in the next few months President Kalam is to visit the river to honour Sant Sancherwal.