Nearly two months after 14 youths were held for allegedly disposing of leftover chicken biryani into the Ganga at Varanasi on March 17, police say they are still waiting for a “forensic report”, without sharing details. Sources said a report is also awaited from Instagram on the account from which the video of the 14 purportedly caught in the act was uploaded.With police yet to file a chargesheet, the bail hearing of the 14 Muslim youths – accused of “hurting religious sentiments”, “defiling” a place of worship and “extortion”, as well as of charges under the pollution Act – is to come up on May 5 now before the Allahabad High Court. Three hearings have happened in the court, with their bail application earlier rejected by a lower court and a Sessions Court.In the time since, only one similar incident has led to police action off the Varanasi ghats, after two youths were allegedly caught drinking beer on the Ganga. The Assi Ghat Police Outpost In-Charge, Sub-Inspector Ranjeet Kumar, said Arjun Rajbhar was held in the case in the first week of April, after which Lal Sahani, also a resident and also in his 20s, was arrested based on “video proof”.Also Read | Iftar on the Ganga lands 14 men in police net, cops claim they had chicken biryaniIn this case too, police are yet to file a chargesheet. Both Rajbhar and Sahani, charged under Sections of breach of peace and criminal intimidation, are out on bail.The state government, which transferred the authority to register boats plying on the Ganga in Varanasi from the Municipal Corporation to the Transport Department, before the iftar biryani row, is yet to put into motion a portal that was meant to streamline regulation and the process. It was alleged that an iftar gathering was held on a boat on the Ganga and the accused discarded the leftovers into the river on March 15. (Express Photo by Vishal Srivastav)Boat owners (1,217 boats are officially registered with the Municipal Corporation) are meant to upload details of their vessels on the portal, with licences to be issued only after verification and certification by government-appointed surveyors, who would ensure compliance with prescribed safety norms.As they await the portal, boat operators are tightening oversight on their own, to prevent being caught in another such row.Story continues below this adAlso Read | No relief for 14 Varanasi youth arrested over iftar on Ganga; Sessions Court denies bailPramod Majhi, the president of the Maa Ganga Nishad Raj Sewa Niyas, an organisation representing boat operators in Varanasi, says: “Previously, there was no clearly defined code of conduct governing activities on boats. The controversy has compelled us to introduce safeguards to uphold the sanctity of the Ganga while also protecting it from pollution.”The new set of guidelines, as per Majhi, include a strict ban on carrying or consuming non-vegetarian food, alcohol, intoxicants and narcotic substances on board. Boat operators have been instructed to ensure that passengers do not throw plastic bottles, food wrappers or any other waste into the river, and are being encouraged to install cameras on their vessels.Besides this, the display of firearms is now expressly forbidden, while operators have been told to stick to the vessel’s approved capacity of passengers, and to watch out for any brawls.“Violators will face action by the association, and will have complaints filed against them to the authorities concerned,” says Majhi.Story continues below this adAlso Read | ‘Never saw such silence on Eid’: Iftar arrests dampen festivities in Varanasi’s TartalaOn food, Shambhu Nishad, the Maa Ganga Nishad Raj Sewa Niyas’s organising secretary, whose family operates 16 boats in Varanasi, says while vegetarian fare is “generally permitted”, passengers do carry items along. There is no provision to check their bags.Some small boats also operate as floating kiosks, selling tea and biscuits to tourists.Assistant Commissioner of Police, Varanasi, Atul Anjaan Tripathi says that with all boats operating on the Ganga privately owned, the government’s role is largely confined to overseeing safety and security regulations.Raghvendra Singh, Regional Transport Officer, Varanasi, promises that the portal for registration of boats will “begin soon”. “We are currently framing the necessary rules and regulations,” he says, adding that the registrations would have to be renewed annually.Story continues below this adNaina Sahani, the daughter of Kashi Sahani, the owner of the boat on which the 14 accused men held the iftar party, says the vessel is back on the water. “But we are now taking extra precautions. We avoid renting the boat to groups of young men, and prefer families, especially those with women and children.”Must Read | The other iftar arrests in UP: Out on bail, 8 leave home fearing more police actionSahani says her family members were questioned twice after the FIR against the 14 men was filed, but have not been called by police for a statement since.The families of the arrested youths say they have been held on false charges without gathering proper evidence, and that they had not thrown any bones or leftovers into the river.Mohammad Shameem, whose sons Mohammad Tahseem and Azad Ali are among the 14 in Varanasi District Jail, says: “All the families regularly visit them. Our sons are getting frustrated as time goes by and they remain in jail… We pray God will help us.”