Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that his government would make the river Ganga a confluence of economy and faith.

Addressing a gathering at the conclusion of the five-day Ganga Yatra at Atal Ghat in Kanpur on Friday, Yogi Adityanath said, “Maa Ganga has been the centre of our faith since time immemorial. Now we will make it a confluence of economy as well as faith in accordance with the mantra given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

The chief minister said that if the Ganga was linked to the economy, the biggest beneficiaries would be the crores of poor people whose livelihood depended on the river Ganga.

Referring to the Namami Gange mission promoted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rejuvenate the Ganges, the chief minister said the mission had been accomplished and the river Ganga was now clean and pure.

Yogi said when the Ganga Yatra started, the inclement weather had become a cause of concern but today the weather was perfect and this was the mercy of Goddess Ganga.

The chief minister appealed to the people to stop the use of chemicals in villages on the banks of the Ganga and take a pledge to make the river clean and ever-flowing.

He said that earlier the most critical point of the Ganga was Kanpur as due to the high level of pollution in the river, aquatic animals especially the fish were found dead in large number at Jajmau. But the Namami Gange mission had brought about a total transformation and now the river’s water was clean.

He said this could be done successfully because of the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and the united efforts of the UP government and the people who had faith in river Ganga.

The chief minister said the UP government’s Ganga Yatra had started from Bijnor and Ballia and both routes converged in Kanpur after covering 1338 kms in five days.

He said all the schemes announced during the yatra would help in the makeover of towns and villages along the river.

Hitting out at the opposition, Yogi said their canard that law and order was worse in UP had been proved wrong. He said this could be substantiated by the fact that on the day of Ganga aarti and this special assembly, the UP Police had rescued 26 children held hostage and had eliminated their captor.

 Earlier, Yogi Adityanath performed Ganga aarti and offered prayer at Atal Ghat here.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, state ministers Satya Dev Pachauri, Satish Mahana, Neelima Katiyar Devendra Singh Bholey and many BJP leaders were present on the occasion.