Today is World Heritage Day and this is an apt occasion to deliberate upon the need for making India’s holy river, Ganga, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Many organizations have been requesting the state and central governments to prepare a scientific report on the basis of which the Ganga can be declared a world heritage site.
The famous valley of flowers and Nanda Devi National Park in Uttarakhand are already taworld heritage sites.It is high time that the Uttarakhand government began the process of having this sacred river declared as a world heritage site.
The central government and the state government of Uttarakhand should get together and prepare a comprehensive plan to make a scientific report on the basis of which the Ganga, from Gaumukh to Haridwar, can be declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Ganga and its tributaries are the lifeline of theGanga valley which sustains forty per cent of India’s population and are the bedrock of India’s civilization and heritage.The flora of this area also acts as a major carbon sink of Asia and has a unique climate diversity right from the upper Himalayas to the plains of Uttarakhand.
The waters of the Ganga mainstream have the unique quality of remaining fresh as a result of the substances found in the bed of the sacred river,a phenomenon not found in any river of the world With a cluster of ancient religious townships and rich tradition of fairs and festivals ,the Himalayan and sub-Himalayan surroundings of the Ganga are among the richest fountainheads of the culture of mankind.
Well known environmentalist Dr.Ranjit Bhargava has been advocating that the central government and the state government of Uttarakhand should get together and prepare a comprehensive plan to make a scientific report on the basis of which the Ganga , from Gaumukh to Haridwar, can be declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Talking to The Pioneer here, Dr. Bhargava said he had been making efforts in this direction and had met UNESCO representatives . “They are very positive .But the joint efforts of the state and central governments are required to get going the process of having the Ganga declared as a World Heritage Site”, he said.
“It is my appeal to the state government and the centre to take up this matter seriously instead of squabbling over partial proposals to save the Ganga,” said Bhargava.
lokesh Ohri,Co-Convener of the Dehra Dun Chapter and Co-Convener of the Uttarakhand State Chapter of INTACH , says a roadmap needs to be developed for sustainable economic and cultural development in this ecologically and culturally significant region.
The Ganga is significant to humanity as a fountainhead of the oldest, continuous civilization and culture. The Upper Ganga region (or Ganga in the Himalaya) defines the river and its civilization.
Besides being home to the most sacred pilgrimage sites such as the Char Dhams (Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri), Hemkund Sahib, shakti peethas and other centers, this region is also an ecology and tourism hotspot. Recent studies have indicated that 92 per cent of tourism revenues in the state of Uttarakhand are generated through pilgrimage and thus Ganga contributes significantly to the economy as well. As arduous pilgrimage transforms into comfort tourism, geophysical realities of 'development' projects like dams and roads stare us in the face. There is an urgent need for diverse disciplines to come together and formulate an action plan for ecological-cultural sustainability coupled with organic development in the Upper-Ganga region.
Uttarakhand already has two UNESCO World Heritage Sites namely Valley of Flowers and the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve.The Ganga flows in the region of these two sites and this will make it easier to get the river approved as a world heritage site. Making this area a world heritage site would encourage international tourism as well as local heritage tourism,handicrafts ,floriculture ,health camps and non-polluting industry resulting in the economic benefit of the people of Uttarakhand.
Talking to The Pioneer here, Dr.Bhargava said he had been making efforts in this direction and had met UNESCO representatives. “They are very positive. But the joint efforts of the State and central governments are required to get going the process of having the Ganga declared as a World Heritage Site”, he said. “It is my appeal to the state government and the centre to take up this matter seriously instead of squabbling over partial proposals to save the Ganga,” said Bhargava.
He said that he had earlier suggested on several occasions that Eco Task Forces of ex-servicemen should be constituted for cleaning the Ganga as part of the Ganga Action Plan. “But this was never done. It would have worked wonders by now.”
Uttarakhand already has two UNESCO World Heritage Sites namely Valley ofFlowers and the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve.The Ganga flows in the region of these two sites and this will make it easier to get the river approved as a World Heritage site.
Making this area a world heritage site would encourage international tourism as well as local heritage tourism,handicrafts, floriculture, health camps and non-polluting industry resulting in the economic benefit of the people of Uttarakhand.