Ganga is not just any river in Bharat. It is integral to the life and culture in Bharat. That’s the reason it’s called Maa Ganga. But, the other sad part is some governments after independence didn’t realise this. The result was the flow of polluted water and pollutants in the stream of Maa Ganga. Ganga Samagra was launched by the Sangh in 2011 with the aim to work towards an integrated approach to bring Maa Ganga to its past glory.
A meeting will take place from February 18-20 in Prayagraj to formulate strategies to take this movement forward. It will be attended by the senior leadership of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh. Sarsanghchalak Mohan ji Bhagwat will address the gathering on February 20. The same day Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is also expected to attend the meeting.
A day before Sah Sar Karyawah, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, Krishna Gopal ji will address the gathering. More than 600 volunteers from Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Delhi are expected to attend the meeting. The agenda of the meeting is to formulate strategies to further the movement. From its launching in 2011, Ganga Samagra was launched is working on multiple fronts to achieve its goal.
Five states, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Bengal have been central to the plan. The Ganga passes through about 80 districts and more than 1000 villages are on its bank. For the work of the Sangh, this whole area has been divided into 12 zones and each zone is headed by one dedicated volunteer. The volunteers are guided by Sah Sar Karyavah ji. When the Bharatiya Janata Party won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, respecting the sentiments of millions, the Modi government launched Namami Gange Programme with a budget outlay of 20,000 crore rupees.
It was very much inspired by Ganga Samagra.
It believed in the integrated approach towards achieving its goal. So, the areas were identified for action: Sewage Treatment Infrastructure, River-Front Development, River-Surface Cleaning, Bio-Diversity, Afforestation, Public Awareness, Industrial effluent Monitoring and Ganga Gram. The central idea of Ganga Samagra has always been to take all the stakeholders on board. And the Abhiyan always believed in the power of people’s participation.
So, the Kewat fishing community has always been a participant in this.
The Abhiyan has always kept in mind the comfort of the devotees. So, it has been consistently requesting authorities to arrange for changing rooms for women on the ghats. Also, requesting devotes to wash clothes away from the streams.
As a result of the efforts, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India, had set a target of constructing 15,27,105 toilets in 1674 Gram Panchayats of five Ganga Basin States. More than eight lakh toilets have already been constructed.
Seven of Bharat’s top research institutes, IITs, have been engaged in making the Ganga River Basin plan.
Maa Ganga is very central to the cultural life and ethos of Bharat. The Abhiyan makes it a special point to ensure all arrangements are made to ensure the safety and comfort of the devotees who throng in large numbers for a dip in the river on various occasions.
