Politician hospitalized after drinking from river to prove it’s clean

An Indian politician who drank water from a polluted ‘Holy river’ to prove it is clean has reportedly been admitted to hospital.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was admitted to Delhi’s Indraprastha Apollo Hospital with a stomach ache earlier this week, The India Express reports.

According to sources, he is still in hospital on Thursday after being admitted on Tuesday. He is said to be undergoing medical tests.

A well-known environmentalist and a fellow parliamentarian had invited Mr Mann to participate in the 22nd anniversary of an annual clean of the river in Sultanpur Lodhi, Punjab.

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A video showing Mr. Mann scooping up a glass of water, which is believed to be polluted with sewage waste, has gone viral.

A top official in Punjab said “We frequently receive complaints from people that the river is being polluted by the sewage waste coming out of these residential areas,” he said.

In March, Mr. Mann was elected as chief minister of Punjab after a campaign which focused on providing safe drinking water.

Punjab has India’s highest incidence of cancers 1owing to contaminated water from rapid industrialisation.

He has launched a campaign to clean rivers and drains across the state.

Following his airlift to hospital, his party, Aam Admi (AAP) said: “Bhagwant Mann drank water from the Bein and said that he was blessed to have got this opportunity.”

However, AAP leaders denied Mr. Mann had any infection, insisting he went to the hospital for a routine check-up and was discharged that evening.

According to Sikh mythology, Kali Bein is where Guru Nanak, founder and first Guru of Sikhism, gained enlightenment.

While he was staying with his sister Bebe Nanki in Sultanpur Lodhi, he would bathe in the water.

One day, he is said to have disappeared after taking a dip in the stream, only to appear three days later. He then proclaimed his essential teaching that there is only one God and truth is his name.