ICMR receives proposal from NMCG to test Ganga water for Covid-19 treatment

Team Udayavani, May 4, 2020, 10:06 AM IST

Indian Medical Research Council (ICMR) has received a proposal to conduct clinical trials on Ganga water to examine if it can be used to treat patients infected with Covid-19.

The proposal was sent by The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), an arm of the Jal Shakti Ministry. It was forwarded after apex research body after Atulya Ganga, an organisation comprising Army Veterans, requested Ministry to conduct clinical trials on the holy water.

The letter submitted by Atulya Ganga claimed that there are several species of bacteriophages in the upper stretches of the Ganga.

“In Ganges, scientists have discovered bacteriophages, and named it Ninja Virus, popularly known as Gangtva. Phages, as they are also called, are viruses that specifically target bacteria and are also extremely strain specific,” it stated

Major Manoj Keshwar (retd), founder of Atulya Ganga said that India is blessed to have a holy river like Ganga and there are scientific references to suggest that these phages have anti-microbial properties and could potentially destroy bacteria.