After flagging off ‘Namami Gange Jagriti Yatra’ from his official residence in lucknow on Wednesday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that if the present generation failed to protect rivers like Ganga and Yamuna then the plains of UP and Bihar will be reduced to desert in near future.
“It is no secret that these rivers are so important for our lives and flora and fauna. Keeping these rivers pollution-free and maintaining their unhindered flow is of paramount importance. If we fail to protect Ganga and Yamuna, then large swathe of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar will face desert-like situation,” Yogi Adityanath said.
The Chief Minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken up cudgels to clean these rivers. The Modi government has sanctioned Rs 20,000 crore to keep Ganga clean from Gangotri to Ganga Sagar and even set up a new ministry to monitor the project.
“As this is not a Central Government project only, the state government too has chipped in with its efforts to keep Ganga and Yamuna clean. The UP government has gone for a major plantation drive on the 150 kms banks of Ganga on July 5 in which over 1.30 lakh trees were planted. Over 1600 villages spread in 25 districts have been declared ‘Open Defecation Free’. Besides, efforts have begun to make Ganga clean during the coming ‘Ardh Kumbh Mela’ at Allahabad in 2019,” the Chief Minister said.
Yogi said that efforts have been made to ensure that tanneries and industries do not drain their effluents into rivers directly. “I appealed to the people not to throw garbage in rivers. It is the duty of the people to save Ganga and Yamuna from pollution,’’ the CM said.
The Yatra will pass through 108 blocks of 25 districts of UP from Bijnore to Ballia along Ganga covering around 1,025 kilometers and make people aware about cleanliness of the river. The yatra will end in lucknow on September 6.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend a function in Varanasi on September 1 while Union Home minister Rajnath Singh is likely to partake in a function at Mirzapur on August 31. Several ministers have been deputed at different places to welcome the Yatra.