India’s most loved and household comic hero across the ages, Chacha Chaudhary, whose brain works “faster than a computer,” is back but this time diving into the waters of the Ganga with his giant sidekick Sabu to battle villains threatening the river’s health.
A latest set of stories, released as part of collaboration between the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and Diamond Books publication, blends humour, action and environmental awareness in a way only Chacha Chaudhary can.
The newly published comics take the familiar duo into four fresh adventures, each highlighting a unique aspect of the Ganga ecosystem. In an anti-poaching story, Chacha Chaudhary joins hands with friendly dolphins that also showcases the river’s biodiversity.
In Aviral (ever-flowing) and Nirmal (clean), Chacha Chaudhary and Sabu ensure that polluters and illegal dumpers face justice. A third adventure brings in a wise old tortoise, representing resilience and the age-old connection between river and life.
As always, Sabu’s sheer physical might crushes the henchmen, while Chacha Chaudhary’s razor-sharp mind unravels the masterminds’ plots.
The mix of fast-paced action and moral clarity has long been a hallmark of cartoonist Pran’s creation, but here, the stakes are ecological survival, not just small-town peace.
Chacha Chaudhary was declared the mascot of the Namami Gange Programme by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in October 2021 to engage children and promote behavioural change towards river cleanliness through comics and animations.
By weaving environmental themes into an iconic Indian comic format, the initiative aims to make children and young readers not only fans of Chacha Chaudhary, but also spread awareness on Ganga conservation. “Comics have a way of making serious issues relatable,” a senior official said, noting that using familiar characters helps convey the urgency of river conservation to a wider audience.
At the 37th Executive Committee meeting of the NMCG, chaired by Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General, NMCG, Chacha Chaudhary was declared as the mascot.
NMCG has been focusing on youth as part of its outreach and public communications efforts as they are the impellers of change. As a step towards this NMCG has tied-up with Diamond Toons to develop and distribute comics, e-comics and animated videos. The content will be designed with the objective of bringing about behavioral change amongst children towards Ganga and other rivers.
The total estimated budget for the project is Rs. 2.26 Cr. Ashok Kumar Singh, Executive Director (ED), Projects, presented the project details and shared that Chacha Chaudhary can be useful in ground-level activation for Ganga rejuvenation. Initially, the comics will be launched in Hindi, English and Bengali. “NMCG has always been into community engagement with special focus on youth and children. This association will be one more step towards it,” Mishra said. Dipak Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Department Government of Bihar, Dr. Pravin Kumar Mutiyar, Director Technical, NMCG and other top officials were present.