VARANASI, Sept. 22 -- : As the Ganga water level receded to 66.42 metres in Varanasi, platforms and stairs at the ghats became visible again, with large amounts of silt left behind by the receding floodwater.

Ganga volunteers and some locals have started removing the silt and waste, including flowers, deposited along the ghats. Ganga volunteer Rajesh Shukla said he and a team of volunteers cleaned the waste covering Dashashwamedh Ghat, including its stairs and platform. Shukla said several people dump flowers and other waste into the river as an act of faith, and the floodwater later carries it to the ghats.

Varanasi has 84 ghats. Asi Ghat, its adjoining ghats and several other ghats are covered with silt and flood waste left behind by ...