Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Manoj Sinha on Sunday launched the new scheme which made the Gangajal easily available at all the post offices across the country.

Two varieties of Gangajal one bottled in Gangotri and the other one in Rishikesh, some 300km downstream were available.

The CPMG said, “People can place their order directly online to get the bottles packed in a beautiful box at the doorstep.” For bottles online, one need to pay the charges equal to that of charges of the Speed Post. Those who opt for bottles from Rishikesh will pay 15 rupees ($0.22; 17p) for 200ml, while Gangotri’s water is on sale at 25 rupees for the same size.

The initiative was taken up by the Narendra Modi government to deliver the holy water from the Ganga at the doorstep of every Indian across the length and breadth of the country using the vast postal network.

The river is sacred to Hindus who worship it as “Mother Ganges”, but it has also become badly polluted with industrial waste, sewage and dead bodies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised a huge clean-up operation, but India’s environment watchdog said in January that little had changed so far.