The Kali Bein river in Punjab’s Sultanpur Lodhi city has sewage and industrial waste flowing into it, and every year a large number of fish die due to the lack of oxygen in the water.
Despite this, Punjab state chief minister Bhagwant Mann thought it would be a good idea to down a glass of the polluted water for the cameras, and was hospitalised soon after this footage was taken:
Punjab Chief Minister openly drinks a glass of polluted water from a ‘holy river’ to prove that water is clean. Now admitted to hospital. pic.twitter.com/MH1OLwUlUw
— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) July 21, 2022
It actually looks like he’s bricking it as soon as he finishes that glass, like he immediately realised what a bad idea that was. All he wants is for the camera to get off him so he can puke it all back up. According to The Independent, he fell ill with severe stomach ache and had to be airlifted to Delhi where he spent two days in hospital.
So yeah, I guess Bhagwant Mann categorically proved that the water of the Kali Bein river is not safe to drink and most certainly isn’t holy. Or maybe it is holy, but just not in the way everyone thought it was. I’m not sure that’s going to be much of a vote winner given he was trying to prove the complete opposite, but at least he lived to tell the tale. Onwards and upwards!
