Modi accused of failing on 10-year-old promise to clean up Ganges River

NEW DELHI -- For years, the clean-up of the polluted River Ganges has been mired in politics, with accusations of corruption and mismanagement flowing thick and fast while the river has remained filthy. With India now voting in its six-week-long general elections, which began in mid-April, the topic has come under the spotlight again.

On May 14 when India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi filed his nomination papers from Varanasi in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh -- his constituency since 2014 -- critics and opposition leaders questioned him about his achievements for the city. At the top of their agenda was why India's most sacred river, the Ganges, which flows through the holy city, continues to remain polluted despite billions of rupees having been spent on cleaning it up.