Organised under the banner of Haridwar Nagrik Manch, the Ganga Mahotsav concluded on Monday with message on the importance of saving environment and Ganga. A string of cultural programmes were staged by the students of several schools in course of which they gave the call for saving trees, conserving environment and protecting the holy river from pollutants. On the concluding day of the festival, a national level Kavi Sammelan was held during which the eminent poet Hariom Pawar along with others left a spell on the gathering through recitation of poems.
The four- day cultural extravaganza came to an end at Prem Nagar Ashram on the day with a clear message to the people, said the organisers. Hariom Pawar touched the heart of the people while reciting his Veer Ras poems on Kargil war with the ambience left suffused with a strong strain of nationalism and empathy for the jawans who are laying down their lives incessantly to protect the borders of the country. A teenager Sanyukt Arya recited the verse of Hariom Pawar and called himself a disciple of the poet.
After the mahotsav concluded, Jagdeesh Lal Pahwa, the chairman of Haridwar Nagrik Manch, said that five people from Haridwar have been awarded with ‘Haridwar Ratna’ honour during the Ganga festival. Murari Lal Jain and Guru Prasad Saxena have been awarded posthumously for their contribution to the society, in general, and welfare of Haridwar, in particular, while the environment- friendly industrialist Sandeep Jain, the former state woman commissioner Santosh Chauhan, environmentalist Prof B D Joshi from Gurukul Kangri University and Inder Mohan Barthwal who are known for promoting of sports have been bestowed with the honour.
President of Haridwar Nagrik Manch S K Batra sang a verse on Ganga where he said that mere calling Ganga ‘mother’ is not enough and left the people introspective. Ravindra Saini from Roorkee had given his poetic message on the imperative of environment conservation which deeply moved those gathered, he added.
Students from DAV Haridwar, DPS Ranipur and Mount Litera gave dance performances on the same theme of the exalted stature of the river Ganga and the importance of conserving environment by every means.