Nirmal Ganga Abhiyan launched

Campaign aims to create awareness on Ganga cleanliness::

P.S. Chatham

The director general of the state police (DGP), Jyoti Swaroop Pandey flagged off the Nirmal Ganga Pravah-2010 campaign from the Ganga ghat at Haridwar. A number of boats, carrying 100 police personnel from Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh and representatives of the participating NGOs, will cover the 1500 kilometer stretch on the Ganga from Haridwar to Patna in next 27 days. During these days programmes relating to environment, cleaning the Ganga and tourism promotion will be organised at 27 places. The jawans and the officials of the police are being accompanied by the personnel from the ITBP, the CRPF, the BSF, Nehru Yuva Kendra, the U.P. Nauka Sangh, the Sports Directorate, the Rafting and the Kyaking Association, the State Olympic Association etc. The main objective of the campaign is to disseminate information about environment protection and saving the Ganga. During the campaign efforts will also be made to find out new destinations for adventure sports and tourism. The first phase of the compaign will end at Balawali in Haridwar district of Uttarakhand.

Speaking on the occasion of the flagging off the campaign, the DGP said that the objective of the journey on the Ganga upto Patna was to enlist public participation. "Be it crime or any social issue, it is difficult to deal with them without people's involvement. The campaign has been launched for the cleanliness of the Ganga. It will send a good message across the country", said the DGP. "The aim of the campaign is to create environmental awareness and tourism promotion. Wherever we shall stay during the campaign, we shall hold painting competitions, poetic contests and seminars involving the youths in order to connect them with Maa Ganga. The coverage of the entire event through the media will create mass awareness", said Aditya Mishra, the inspector general of police of U.P. and co-ordinator of the campaign. Swami Achutyanand Teerth, Bhooma Peethadheeshwar said that the Ganga was the life line of the country. "If Indian civilization is to be saved, the Ganga has to be saved. The sant community should come out in a big way to save the holy river", he exhorted.

The nodal officer of the campaign in Uttarakhand and D.I.G. of the P.A.C., Alok Kumar Sharma, the district magistrate, R. Meenakshi Sundaram, the S.S.P., Sanjay Gunjyal, many V.I.P.s and the representatives of the sant community and the social organizations were present when the campaign took off from the Ganga ghat in Haridwar.