Indian State Chief Reportedly Hospitalized After Drinking Water From 'Holy' River

The Kali Bein, a river in India’s Punjab, is considered sacred and holy by the Sikh community, as it is believed that Sikhism’s founder Guru Nanak bathed in it and gained enlightenment. On July 17, Punjab state chief Bhagwant Mann drank water from the river and said "he was blessed to have got this opportunity."

Punjab state chief Bhagwant Mann was allegedly “airlifted and admitted to a hospital in Delhi” after drinking from the Kali Bein in Sultanpur Lodhi city in India's state of Punjab.

The incident occurred after Mann was invited on July 17 by environmentalist and parliamentarian Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal, who launched a statewide campaign to clean rivers, to participate in the 22nd anniversary of the cleaning of the Kali Bein.

Following the visit, a video of Mann drinking water from the Kali Bein was shared by his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab and was widely circulated when media reports suggested Mann had been admitted to hospital complaining of abdominal pain. The hospitalization reportedly occurred on Tuesday, with the state chief being discharged late Wednesday evening.

Punjab Chief Minister openly drinks a glass of polluted water from a ‘holy river’ to prove that water is clean. Now admitted to hospital. pic.twitter.com/MH1OLwUlUw

— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) July 21, 2022

However, state officials denied the report of his illness and said it was a routine checkup.

In 2000, Seechewal led a campaign to clean the Kali Bein, which at the time was untreated and industrial waste was dumped openly into the river, due to which dense grass and weeds also grew on the surface of the water.

However, the campaign to clean the river has been considered quite successful and the project has become a role model for cleaning rivers like the Ganges and Yamuna.