An NGO wrote to Ministry of Jal Shakti claiming Gangajal could cure COVID-19 & it should be studied, ICMR was asked to do ‘further research’.
New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government’s “request” to conduct research on a theory that Gangajal, or water from Ganga river, could possibly cure Covid-19 was turned down by the ICMR.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said to The Print that the agency has refused to get involved as it is focussing on the COVID-19 battle and doesn’t want to waste time on other research amid the pandemic.
The move came after the medical research body got a “request” from the Ministry of Jal Shakti to conduct “further research” on a recommendation by an NGO, Atulya Ganga, said an official.
In its letter last month, Atulya Ganga had cited the presence of a ‘ninja virus’, called a bacteriophage, in Ganga’s water that could cure COVID-19. A bacteriophage is a special type of virus that eats harmful bacteria, the letter said. However, COVID-19 is a virus.
The NGO asked the centre on 3 April to conduct a study on the probability of this virus acting as a cure. It sent a copy each to the ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
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The ministry’s National Mission for Clean Ganga then wrote to ICMR on 30 April asking for a clinical trial.
The ministry’s National Mission for Clean Ganga is the department controlling the Modi government’s grand Namami Gange programme,
The Indian Council of Medical Research then held a meeting to discuss the idea but refused to proceed.
(Inputs from The Print)
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