A new scheme that enables all India Post offices to supply water from the Ganges, or The "Gangajal," was launched on Monday. The initiative will provide an opportunity for people to use the holy water for washing off their sins during religious rituals, as it is often inconvenient or even dangerous for them to go to the Ganges itself.
The new scheme was announced on Sunday by Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad and Union Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha in Siliguri, a city in the Indian state of West Bengal.
"Gangajal met with huge demand." The first share of 15 bottles was delivered on Sunday to the state's capital, Kolkata, and vanished in seconds. The same thing happened at Siliguri on Monday, according to officials.
"The supply was meagre in Bengal. We got only 280 bottles of 500ml and 245 bottles of 200ml for the entire state," said Swapan Garai, an assistant director at the Department of Posts, who manages the distribution of Gangajal across the state. "The bottles sold out instantly. People left the counter cursing us," Abhijit Sarkar, a head post office employee, told local media.
