Thaindian News

Kanpur/Lucknow, Aug 22 (IANS) It’s not only on land — support for Anna Hazare’s anti-graft campaign can also be seen on the waters of the Ganga in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur district.

Holding the tricolour high in the air, swimmers of various age groups can be seen swimming in the river, shouting slogans in Hazare’s praise.

“The beauty of the campaign lies in the skills of the swimmers, who ensure the national flag does not touch the water even once,” Devesh Pathak, associated with a local swimmers’ association supporting the event, told reporters in Kanpur, some 80 km from Lucknow.

Swimmers plunging into the waters and unfurling the tricolour in the middle of the river is a common sight in Kanpur’s cantonment area.

“As people across the country are supporting Annaji in their own way, we thought of this unique idea to express solidarity with the renowned social activist,” he added.

A large number of people assemble on the banks to witness the support for Hazare flowing on the waters.

“Yes, the act we perform is a difficult one, but it stands nowhere to what Annaji is doing… His (Hazare) act is extraordinary. Annaji has been sitting on a fast to fight corruption. We all need to contribute our bit to support a man who is spearheading a campaign to free the nation from corruption,” said Ankit Kumar, one of the swimmers.

Meanwhile, in Lucknow, people from various walks of life continue to converge at the Jhulelal Park, where the main programme in Hazare’s support is being carried out under the banner of India Against Corruption (IAC).

In Lucknow’s Hazratganj area, a signature campaign on a 101-foot-long sheet was organised by a youths’ union in support of Hazare Monday.

“The entire sheet got filled up with the signatures in a couple of hours. Now, Anna supporters are overwriting on the sheet to express their support with his anti-graft campaign,” Bal Krishna, organiser of the signature campaign, told IANS.