Stating that after coming to power in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chalked out a plan to not only clean the Ganga river but the entire river basin, Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Thursday said that the Centre successfully worked for the rejuvenation of one of the world's longest rivers with a holistic approach.
Shekhawat stated that PM Modi laid emphasis on the importance of 'aviral dhara' (continuous flow) and 'nirmal dhara' (unpolluted flow) as part of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).
The Jal Shakti Minister said, "In 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power he made a holistic plan to not only work for cleaning Ganga but the entire Ganga basin. He also laid stress on Aviral dhara (continuous flow) with the nirmal Dhara (unpolluted flow) and its impact can be seen. We can proudly say that we have successfully worked for the rejuvenation of one of the world's longest rivers with a holistic approach".
Shekhawat's remarks came at the 6th edition of the India Water Impact Summit (IWIS 2021) organized in New Delhi by the NMCG in collaboration with the Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (c-Ganga).
The week-long event with the theme "River Resources Allocation – Planning and Management at the Regional Level'' is being organised in a hybrid mode – online and physically at the NMCG office in New Delhi and IIT, Kanpur.
Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and MoS in the Ministry of Jal Shakti Prahlad Singh Patel joined the inaugural session and laid emphasis on the achievements of rejuvenation of the river Ganga and its tributaries.
The summit also enlightens the participants on the complexities and peculiarities as well as the scales of managing the rivers across the basin.
The focus has been on synchronizing river conservation with long term developmental needs by river resource budgeting.
Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga, said, "We look at the management of the basin. What are the challenges for cleaning Ganga, what are the challenges for maintaining its health, the challenges can be for pollution. Challenges can come from ecological restoration or the flow improvement".
He added, "This is the 6th such conference and today's conference is primarily focused upon regional level issues. So, the entire length of Ganga, we have divided into Upper Ganga, Middle Ganga, Middle Ganga and Delta Area. So, in different regions, what are the challenges, what is happening there? How can experts contribute? How can different stakeholders come together?"
The National Mission for Clean Ganga has been working towards comprehensive analysis and holistic management of local rivers and water bodies in the Ganga basin areas.
The Summit will host the sessions with integrated as well as individual focus on Science, Technology and Policy, Finance and Economics, Technology & Innovation, Policy, Law & Governance and International Cooperation.
Experts from the scientific community from across the globe would be participating in the IWIS 2021.
The event will provide a knowledge enriching platform to all stakeholders and aim to discuss, debate and develop the model solutions for some of the important challenges before not only Ganga but all rivers and the water sector in India. (ANI)
