Press Release: March 16-22 Ganga Cleanup

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March 1, 2003 - Eco Friends to launch a massive Clean Ganga Campaign

from March 16 to March 22.

 

The United Nations (UN) has declared 2003 as the International Year

of Freshwater. Besides, March 22 is the World Water Day. Eco Friends

is launching a massive Ganga Clean-Up Campaign in Kanpur from March

16 to March 22, 2003.

 

The objective behind this campaign is to make the 10 km stretch of

Kanpur Ganga visibly clean. It also aims to instill in the masses

that Ganga is a national heritage and it is our responsibility to

keep it clean. We hope that the clean-up drive would make the

government departments concerned to take stock of the pollution

situation in Ganga.

 

The cleaning programme would be done in three phases.

 

On March 16, our team with support from NCC/ NSS and the Ganga

communities (people staying on the ghats and in the villages along

the river) will generate awareness about the pollution in the Ganga

ferrying on the boats. Loudspeakers would be used to disseminate the

importance of keeping the Ganga clean and the way the masses can

contribute in the movement. Pamphlets would also be distributed to

maximize the impact of the drive. Banners will also be put up to

ensure the participation of the civic society.

 

Phase I: March 17: On this day, the ghat community and villagers

would be motivated and mobilized to participate in the physical

cleaning of the Ganga in Kanpur (approximately 4 km stretch of the

river stream and both banks). Eco Friends plans to fish out dead

bodies and clean the river of polythene bags, worship materials and

other non-point sources of pollution. The corpses and carcases

retrieved would be given a proper burial on these ghats by digging

pits and consigning these bodies to the sands.

 

Phase II: March 19: We intend to clean-up the next stretch of the

river (from Gola Ghat to Dapka Ghat) on this day. Simultaneously, the

team of Eco Friends with their volunteers comprising Ganga Prahari

(Ghat community) and Ganga Vahini (Village community) would put

thrust to the campaign by raising slogans and spreading the message

of a clean and pollution-free Ganga.

 

Phase III: March 22: The school children along with the Ganga

communities would be involved in the cleaning of the next stretch of

the river (from Dapka Ghat to Siddhanath Ghat including Chandan Ghat

which is on the northern bank of the river). The children will

display placards and banners while riding on the boats and on the

ghats.

 

The actual cleaning of Ganga planned in three phases will be

punctuated and preceded by a series of mass education, awareness and

mobilization programmes on the issue of Ganga. The mass mobilization

programmes have already been initiated. On February 22, Eco Friends

organized an awareness programme for the Army personnel. On February

24, the students and teachers of St Mary's Convent were mobilized to

join the campaign.