Ganga is the centre of faith and belief of the entire nation and there is a need of coordinated efforts for making the river pollution-free, Chhattisgarh Water Resources Department Minister Brijmohan Agrawal said while speaking at Ganga Flood Control Board meeting held in Patna recently. “From Chhattisgarh’s neighbouring district Surguja, rivers like Ren, Kahnar, Gopad and Banas flow and join Son river which further joins the Ganga. From this point of view, a small part of Ganga basin is in Chhattisgarh,” the Minister informed the Board.
Since the ‘Zamindari’ days in Chhattisgarh, the State has around 1.50 lakh ponds and there is need of some planning for their conservation, he added. The meeting was chaired by Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti. While raising demand for preparing a master plan to control floods, Agrawal said that this master plan should include the Ganga flood control working plan. In the meeting, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Uttar Pradesh Water Resources Minister Shivpal Yadav, Bihar Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Uttarakhand Water Resources Minister Surendra Patel, Member of NITI Ayog Dr VK Saraswat, Chairman of Central Water Commission Ashwin B Pandya and others were present.