Ganga cannot be cleaned in 50 years: Joshi

[prasad1]

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Senior BJP leader Murali Manohar Joshi created a flutter on Friday when he said that the Ganga cannot be cleaned even in the next 50 years if the project is implemented at the present rate.

He also questioned the manner in which the Narendra Modi government was talking about inter-linking of rivers and creating waterways.

In reaction, Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti said she would speak to Joshi about the government’s programme and clear his “doubts”.

Only a day ago, Uma had said the Ganga would show first signs of being pollution-free by October next year and the first project on inter-linking of rivers (Ken-Betwa) will take off within a year.

She had said the “Namami Gange” project had been “delayed” as the Centre decided to bear the entire funding, instead of asking the states to give a matching grant, and thus had to re-work its financial plans and approvals. A sum of Rs 12,000 crore has been set aside for the project.

Ganga cannot be cleaned in 50 years: Joshi

 

[Brahmanyan]

Senior BJP leader, Dr M M Joshi is not wrong in claiming that "the Ganga cannot be cleaned even in the next 50 years if the project is implemented at the present rate ". He is telling this out of past experience. Ganga Action Plan (GAP) initiated in 1986 failed after spending Rs 9,017 million and closed in March, 2000. National River Ganga Basin Authority (NRGBA) constituted under the chairmanship of Prime Minister with the Chief Ministers of the States through which the holy river passes, as members, declared Ganga as the National River. But this did not give results inspite of grant of $ 1 billion by world bank 2011. Placing advertisements in media will not help, (it is a wasteful expenditure !) it needs very serious efforts to achieve results of this stupendous task.

During the course of its journey of 2525 KM this perennial river passes through many big Cities, towns and villages which continuously discharge large amount of pollutants like raw sewage and industrial wastes into the "holy river" and its tributories. First and foremost is to take effective measures to stop mixing of such pollutants into Ganga. This needs stict legal regulations with heavy punishment for those who pollute the rivers.

IN NEWS: The Ganga Seva Abhiyanam, (GSA) a campaign for clean Ganga initiated by the Sankaracharya of Jyotir Mutt and Dwarka-Sharda peeth Swami Swaroopananda Saraswati, has begun its next phase-'Target 2525' from the auspicious occasion of Ganga Dussehra on June 8, 2015. This phase aims at uninterrupted and clean flow of the river in its entire 2,525 km stretch.The seer also appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking issue of the Ganga on priority and forming a ministry for Ganga. "With this step of the new central government we are hopeful that the holy river would get its pristine glory," he said.

Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.