Thousands of sadhus on Monday threatened to boycott ceremonies at a weeks-long pilgrimage to wash away their sins in the river Ganga, saying the divine river was too polluted. The saffron-clad, ash-smeared holy men, gathered at the fair grounds in Allahabad to demand the State of the waters be improved by January 12, the date of the next great immersion. Almost 70 million pilgrims are expected to participate in the 45-day festival, one of the largest regular gatherings in the world, and wash themselves in the waters of the Ganga believing that it washes away their sins and ends the process of reincarnation.