Kali Bein es un riachuelo en Punjab , India , que desemboca en la confluencia de los ríos Beas y Satluj en Harike . Guru Nanak alcanzó la iluminación después de tomar un baño en Kali Bein y, a pesar de su historia religiosa en el sijismo, los sijs en Punjab no consideran sagrado el riachuelo, ya que no hay cuerpos de agua que se consideren sagrados en el sijismo, aparte de los sijs Sarovars (piscinas). de agua dentro de los gurdwaras) de Gurdwaras (templos sikh). [1] A raíz de la Revolución Verde y el aumento de los pesticidas químicos, el Kali Bein se fue contaminando progresivamente hasta que fue limpiado y rejuvenecido en una acción masiva encabezada por Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal en la década de 2000.
Kali Bein significa literalmente Corriente Negra . [2] Se le llama Kali ('negro') debido al color negro que reflejan los minerales en sus aguas. [3] La palabra punjabí 'bein' deriva del sánscrito 'veni' que significa arroyo o cuerpo de agua. Los beins son una característica de las llanuras y están marcados por su curso zigzagueante. [4]
El Kali Bein surge de un manantial en la aldea de Dhanoa del distrito de Dasuya tehsil Hoshiarpur en Punjab, India. El riachuelo Odhra y el canal Mukerian Hydel son la principal fuente de agua de Kali Bein. Después de fluir durante 160 km, se fusiona en la confluencia de Beas y Satluj en Harike Pattan . [5] El Kali Bein también se llama Bein occidental en Hoshiarpur y su curso es paralelo al Beas en los distritos de Hoshiarpur y Kapurthala . También se cree que el Kali Bein es el lecho abandonado del río Beas y su profundidad varía de 1,5 a 3 metros. [6] El manantial del Bein estaba revestido de ladrillos durante el reinado del emperador Akbar . [5] El Chhoti Bein es un afluente del Kali Bein. [7] El Kali Bein fluye a través de los distritos de Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala y Jalandhar y hay varias ciudades en sus orillas, incluidas Kapurthala y Sultanpur Lodhi . [8] El canal Mukerian Hydel en Terkiana es una importante planta de abastecimiento de agua en el Bein que controla el flujo de agua río abajo. [9] El Kali Bein tiene una cuenca hidrográfica que cubre 945 kilómetros cuadrados. [4]
Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism, is believed to have attained enlightenment after taking a dip in the Kali Bein.[9] Guru Nanak Dev Ji is said to have disappeared while bathing in the Bein only to reappear three days later. Guru Nanak Dev Ji then proclaimed that "There is no Hindu and there is no Musalman. There is only one God and all are equal before Him".[10] The moolmantra of Sikhism, Ik Onkar, originated from this experience.[11] The Gurdwara Sri Ber Sahib, where Guru Nanak Dev Ji used to meditate under a ber tree, is located on the Kali Bein's banks in Sultanpur Lodhi.[2]
Kali Bein plays a key role in recharging the water table and in flood management in its watershed. It is also a key source of irrigation for the agricultural fields there.[12] The Kanjli Wetland, a Ramsar site (a wetland site designated of international importance under the Ramsar Convention), is supported by the Kali Bein. As a result of the Green Revolution, the use of industrial and agricultural chemicals and the exploitation of groundwater led to the drying up of the Kali Bein along parts of its course and the contamination of groundwater leading to diseases and the drying up of farmlands.[13]
The clean up of the Kali Bein was led by Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal who organised a kar sewa and roped in the Government of Punjab. Seechewal's efforts involved the clearing of water hyacinth and other weeds from the Bein, the building of bathing ghats and the construction of a road along the Bein.[14] The kar sewa began in 2000 and till 2003 focused on cleaning up the Kali Bein near Sultanpur Lodhi after which the focus shifted to cleaning up the Bein between Dhanoa and the Kanjli wetland. Seechewal often referred to the Guru Granth Sahib and its verses exhorting the preservation of natural resources in his appeals for cleaning the Bein.[15] 3000 volunteers a day worked under Seechewal for three and a half years to accomplish the revival of the Bein. It directly led to a rise in the water table and the reusability of hand pumps that had remained dry for several decades.[16] Further, these efforts have contributed to eliminating the problem of water logging in the Kali Bein's upstream areas and improved the availability of water in its downstream areas resulting in improved irrigation and better crops.[17]
Despite Seechewal's success, the Kali Bein has continued to suffer in recent years. Inadequate release of water from Mukerian Hydel Channel, the flow back of polluted water from Harike and the failure of sewage treatment plants led to the mass death of fishes in the Kali Bein in 2013.[18]
On 17 July 2022, while on a visit to mark the 22nd anniversary of the river's cleaning, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann consumed a glass of water directly from the river in Sultanpur Lodhi. Two days later he was admitted to a hospital, reportedly, suffering from a stomach infection. He was discharged a day later.[19] While it was speculated that his visit to the hospital was caused by a stomach infection from drinking polluted water, official sources denied this and claimed it was a routine health check-up.[20]
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