Over 11,000 litres of milk was poured into the Narmada River during a ritual, sparking outrage over malnutrition, resource wastage, and environmental concerns in Madhya Pradesh.
Over 11,000 litres of milk — reportedly worth Rs 6 to 7 lakh — was poured into the Narmada River from a heavy tanker in an act of religious faith. The offering was made by a religious guru, Dada Ji Dhunivale Baba, at the conclusion of a 21-day ritual at the Pataleshwar Mahadev Temple in Bherunda tehsil, Sehore district, Madhya Pradesh. Aerial drone shots captured the moment, and the same went viral on social media, with many questioning the act, saying that in a state where malnutrition is so high, could this milk have been used differently? A few also questioned that adding milk to a river is “not a natural thing” and it would also affect the ecosystem.
🇮🇳 India Today:
A staggering 11,000 liters of milk were dumped into the Narmada River to “honor” a cricketer named Abhishek, a brilliant move in a nation where millions face chronic starvation.
While the “fans” celebrated, the river’s ecosystem took the hit:
Mass… pic.twitter.com/IIOUi9LbBO
— 🅰️SIADecoded (@asia_decode2) April 9, 2026
In a country where 80 crore people survive on government rations, 10,000 liters of milk are poured into the Narmada River in the name of religion.
This river is home to 170+ fish species fish that cannot even survive in milk. A fish would die within minutes if placed in it.… pic.twitter.com/2MoT0WMiIm
— aree_shuklajii (@th_anonymouse) April 9, 2026
What Stats Say
According to National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21), conducted by India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 35.5 per cent of children under five in India are stunted, 19.3 per cent are wasted, and 32.1 per cent are underweight. And Madhya Pradesh consistently figures among the worst-performing states on stunting, wasting and underweight indicators, alongside Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, according to NFHS-5 data published by the International Institute of Population Sciences under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The state’s malnutrition rate stands at 7.79 per cent against a national average of 5.40 per cent, according to Dainik Bhaskar — with 1.36 lakh children currently battling the condition.
Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/india/narmada-river-milk-offering-in-madhya-pradesh-sehore-1000-litres-into-the-narmada-1-36-lakh-children-going-without-fight-malnutrition-article-154047277