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India plans to sell holy Ganges water online

Xinhua, June 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

Devout Hindus in India will soon be able to receive water from the holy River Ganges by post, the Indian government has said.

"If a postman can deliver mobile phones, sarees, jewellery and clothes, then why not Ganges water?" Communication and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shakar Prasad told reporters on Tuesday.

"The idea is to address the cultural underpinning of India," he added.

The Ganges is the most sacred river to around 960 million Hindus in India, which accounts for over 80 percent of the country's population. Many of them believe that water from the holy river has the power to wash away their sins.

The river is also a lifeline to millions of Indians who live along its course and depend on it for their daily needs.

Prasad said he has directed the post department to use e-commerce platform to provide pure "Gangajal", or Ganges water, to all the Indian people.

By the end of the year, all postmen in urban centers will be equipped with smart phones while post offices in rural areas are expected to given handheld devices by March next year, the minister said.

According to the Indian News Agency, the India Post has started to negotiate with packaging companies to bottle and transport the water holy spots along the river.

The 2,525-km river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and flows south and east into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bangal. It is the third largest river and one of the most polluted one in the world. Endi