Kanpur Dehat, Uttar Pradesh – In a few districts of Uttar Pradesh, where floodwaters have turned lives upside down, a state minister’s attempt at humor has landed like a lead balloon. On August 4, 2025, Sanjay Nishad, a cabinet minister and head of the Nishad Party, visited flood-ravaged Kanpur Dehat and told villagers that the Ganga River was at their doorstep to “clean their feet” and send them “straight to heaven.” The comment, meant as a lighthearted nod to the river’s sacred status, backfired spectacularly, with locals and social media users calling it tone-deaf and insulting.
Kanpur Dehat is one of several UP districts reeling from floods caused by heavy monsoon rains and rising river levels. The Ganga and Yamuna rivers have breached danger marks, with the Ganga at 69.98 meters in Varanasi, just shy of the 71.26-meter danger level, and the Yamuna flooding homes in Kanpur. Over 84,000 people are affected statewide, with villages submerged and roads impassable. Nishad, tasked with overseeing relief efforts, was distributing supplies in Bhognipur when he remarked, mistakenly calling the Yamuna the Ganga, which only added fuel to the fire.
A viral video captured the moment, showing villagers explaining their losses—flooded homes, ruined crops, and displaced families—while Nishad offered his spiritual take. One elderly woman shot back, inviting him to “stay here and take Ganga’s blessings yourself,” a sharp rebuke that summed up the frustration.
The backlash grew as opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and Congress, slammed Nishad for trivializing a crisis. They argued his words mocked the struggles of flood victims, many of whom have lost everything. Nishad later claimed his comment was a cultural jest, rooted in the Nishad community’s reverence for the Ganga, but the damage was done. Meanwhile, the government has deployed 100 flood relief camps and rescue teams, but with rain continuing and rivers rising, the situation remains grim.
This isn’t the only Ganga-related controversy in UP. In Prayagraj, a police officer, Chandradeep Nishad, went viral for worshipping floodwaters at his home, calling it “Mother Ganga’s” visit. While some praised his faith, others saw it as a sign of how dire the flooding has become. For now, UP’s flood victims need more than prayers, they need real and fast help .
