A first-of-its kind floating museum will soon sail on the river Ganga in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency Varanasi, moving from ghats to ghats to create awareness about the importance and need for conservation of the water body — one of the most revered rivers in the world and also one of the most polluted.
The project is part of the Government’s “Biodiversity Conservation and Ganga Rejuvenation” programme under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) with an objective to ensure the river’s rejuvenation by restoring its ecological integrity.
An official from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), under the Union Environment Ministry, which is executing the project, told The Pioneer that an exhibition has been proposed on bajras — the magnificent boats meant to be floating on river waters — showcasing detailed information on Ganga’s prestine history, ecology and riverine ecosystem, its route — from origin to destination — biodiversity like wild animals and plant species found in and around the river.
Typically, a bajra (Anglicisation as budgerow) is a large boat with a cabin, deck and a large rooftop to sit and enjoy the river sights.
The floating exhibition on bajra will be open for the local communities and tourists visiting the city.
The museum will also highlight threats and possible solutions to overcome the threats to the river. Another important feature of the museum will be focus on climate change and how it is affecting the river, said the official.
“The objective is to educate all stakeholders, particularly the local communities, about the values of aquatic biodiversity of the river and natural processes through establishment of knowledge centres,” he added.
It is said that Ganga still has about 2,000 aquatic species. In fact, during the rapid biodiversity assessment made under the project, the WII has observed species, such as Siebold’s smooth scaled water snake (Enhydris sieboldii), after a gap of 70 years in river Ganga.
The biodiversity assessment team also reported new nesting ground of Indian Skimmer (Rhynchops albicolis), a globally threatened bird, between Allahabad and Mirzapur, positive signs for the river’s biodiversity.
On the lines of the floating exhibition in Varanasi, the Government has also plans to set up an interpretation centre at the Turtle Rescue and Breeding Centre in Sarnath. The centre will act as an information source for schoolchildren, locals, tourists/pilgrims, village community members, etc visiting Varanasi and Sarnath.
The Biodiversity Conservation and Ganga Rejuvenation’ programme aims to maintain or increase ecosystem goods and services and biodiversity values while protecting downstream and coastal ecosystems. In future, science-based aquatic species restoration plan for Ganga river is on the cards.
Modi, who represents the Varanasi constituency on the banks of Ganga, has made a clean-up of the river, one of his key campaign promises in the 2014 general elections. However, the target comes with a huge challenge as the river, which stretches from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, is also a destination for waste produced by hundreds of factories - over three-quarters of the sewage generated in the towns and cities of the country’s crowded northern plains flows untreated into the Ganges.