In a damning exclusive report on Sunday, July 17, it has been reported that an Indian politician, “Bhagwant Mann,” who is the Chief Minister of Punjab, drank a glass of water from the “Kali Bein rivulet,” which is considered a “holy river” among Sikhs. The politician drank water from the river to demonstrate a practical representation of his belief in the purity of this water. Not only this, the main agenda behind drinking water from this so-called “holy river” is to demonstrate to the locals that “it is safe to drink”, but unfortunately, right after drinking water from the river, the politician was reportedly admitted to a nearby hospital with complaints of severe stomach pain.
According to one of the reports from the local Sikh witness, Mann not only drank this polluted water but also drowned himself in water to show the spectators that it was clean to drink. Right after the incident, someone from Mann’s political party tweeted, “Bhagwant Mann also drank water from the Bein and said that he was blessed to have got this opportunity.”
On the other hand, it seems like someone got the common sense, as Deputy Commissioner “Ashok Kaura”, who later said that he was not present on the spot to refrain the minister from drinking this water. He further stated that we have doubts about the cleanliness of this water because “sewage water from different towns and villages on the banks of Kali Bein flows into it.” Similarly, Ashok Swain, who is a professor of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University, tweeted, “Punjab Chief Minister openly drinks a glass of polluted water from a ‘holy river’ to prove that water is clean. Now admitted to hospital. “
This absurd act of the politician came under fire by the netizens and, in response, officials from his party openly negated the rumors of him being admitted to the hospital for drinking the “holy water.” They said that the minister went to the hospital for his routine check-up and that the matter is not related to any of our religious beliefs. But news outlets reported that he was still being treated for his severe stomach pain in the hospital.
For your information, this river is considered pious among Sikhs because Baba Guru Nanak, who is the founder of Sikhism, bathed in it and “gained enlightenment.” For these reasons, people from this religion not only drink this water but also get themselves bathed in it. However, for medical reasons, it is strictly prohibited to drink such water as it has been mixed with sewerage water, which makes it filthy.
