Namami Gange gathers steam - 231 rejuvenation projects being launched simultaneously

At last Namami Gange appears to be gathering steam. It was one of the ambitious programs of the Modi government and, 231 projects are being announced simultaneously to begin execution of the Ganga rejuvenation at 104 locations spread across five river basin states. These are Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Also, along its tributary Yamuna in Haryana and Delhi.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 7 July 2016.

These projects are worth over Rs 2,000 crore and involve modernization and redevelopment of 'ghats' and crematoriums, development of sewage infrastructure, afforestation, plantation of medicinal plants, drains, interceptors, trash skimmers and conservation of biodiversity to ensure clean and free flow of water in the River Ganges.
As Uma Bharati, the minister in-charge of this massive task has explained - it is a historic moment. The first phase would be over in October 2016 and, the second phase will be completed two years later. The program is entirely funded by the Centre, but work is being done with the cooperation of the concerned states.
These projects are in addition to the big projects involving the setting up of new sewage treatment plants (STPs) in various cities of UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Some more interesting links -

Prince Harry joins Coldplay on the stage in Kensington Palace in aid of charity

Beijing is sinking by 11cm per year due to over consumption of ground water

West Bengal government to install swings, see-saws and slides in schools to check dropouts


Moody embraces yoga, his medics could embrace poverty (satire)

Didi wants to promote small scale industries (satire)

Lord Shiva bamboozled by the storylines of TV serials (satire)


ISIS trying to enter India - 11 youths apprehended in Hyderabad

Gunmen strike a restaurant in Dhaka - 20 killed in the attack

36 killed and more than 147 injured in Ataturk airport suicide attack in Istanbul


Katy Perry creates microblogging history with over 90-million followers on Twitter

Meryl Streep, Freida Pinto and Michelle Obama in Morocco to promote education among girls

Kavita Kaushik to play the role of an Army doctor in TV show “Dr. Bhanumati on Duty”

Territorial Army to guard the River Ganges during Magh Mela at Allahabad

#namamigange One battalion of Territorial Army consisting of 250 personnel, would be deployed at Magh Mela in Allahabad to ensure cleanliness on the ghats of the River Ganges and keep it pollution-free during the month-long religious fair. This is an initiative of the Central government sponsored 'Namami Gange' project.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 12 January 2016.

In order to create awareness regarding pollution among the people, a separate pandal exhibiting government's flagship 'Namami Gange' programme would be displayed at the venue of the Magh Mela. During this religious ritual, tonnes of affluent and waste would be generated because about 2,067 seers' bodies, religious and cultural organizations and social associations would be camping on 868 acres during the month-long festivities.
There would also be an estimated 2.56 crore pilgrims who would converge in the city from different parts of the country on the major bathing days.
The Territorial Army would be acting as an eco-task force and coordinate with health department and UP pollution control board to ensure cleanliness of river Ganges. The thrust would be on ensuring that the river remains clean and pollution-free during and after the Magh Mela. The health department, which is responsible for maintaining sanitation and hygiene at mela area, would be allocated an additional budget of Rs 10 lakh for clean-up activities and to ensure that waste left after the mela is disposed off in the proper way and does not pollute the river.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Some more interesting links -

Abhi Shake for industries to boost Bengal’s image (satire)

Rum Mudda reminds Moody about temples (satire)

Lord Shiva’s solution for global warming – go under water (satire)


Beautiful diners get tables near windows or high visibility areas in restaurants

Ahmedabad hosts 13th edition of 'Sattvik' - the pan-India food festival

53-year-old British woman flew 13000-mile in 1942 bi-plane from Farnborough to Sydney


Shah Rukh Khan’s fond wish - to see Ethan Hunt and James Bond in one movie

'Avatar 2', sequel to 'Avatar' of 2009 expected to release in Dcember 2017

Aamir Khan no longer the face of Incredible India


Motorcycle riding gunmen open fire upon tourists as they boarded bus in Cairo

Woman with fake passport in a British Airways flight from Ibiza leads to panic

German police hunting for seven suicide bombers who planned to blow up Munich railway stations

Namami Gange to take off from next month with surface cleaning of 10 cities

#Namamigange #umabharati #Haridwar #varanasi The Namami Gange is to take off in real earnest from next month with surface cleaning of 10 cities - the initial task would be to begin surface cleaning of the River Ganga by removal of solid waste like clothes and parts of dead bodies. AS indicated by water resources minister Uma Bharati, the cities identified are Haridwar, Garhmukteshwar, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, Sahibganj, Kolkata, Nabadwip and Gangasagar.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 24 December 2015.

As revealed by the minister, trial of surface cleaning has already been taken up in Varanasi by Tata Projects Ltd under corporate social responsibility scheme. NTPC, ONGC and Petronet have also expressed willingness to fund the project.
Regarding progress of sewage treatment under Namami Gange, the minister has informed that 29 projects have been completed at a cost of Rs 463.58 crore with the treatment capacity of 123 million litres per day (MLD) and sewer network of 666.69 km. A total of 93 projects have been sanctioned at the cost of Rs 1,502.66 crore. Once complete, it will result in the creation of treatment capacity of 858 MLD and sewer network of 3,623.10 km.
On the subject of progress in river front/ghat development projects, it seems development of four ghats out of 20 in Patna was completed last month and work at Chandighat (Haridwar), Chhath Ghat (Delhi) and Sahibganj will start next month.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Rice on rooftops – a masterplan (satire)

Didi to gift soaps and towels to kids (satire)

Saraswati and Lakshmi and their girlish talks (satire)


Juhi Chawla learns how to ride a scooty

All female pop-group Moranbong Band cancels China goodwill tour

Eagles Of Death Metal to perform at the Olympia Theatre on 16 February


No country liquor in Bihar from April - only Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL)

Thieves make away with sandalwood trees from Santiniketan

76% of butterflies vanishing in Britain - a result of climate change


1,000 British troops and Special forces going to Libya to eliminate ISIS jihadists

United States faced with Syrian refugee influx - nearly 100,000 have entered since 2012

Scotland Yard launches biggest ever crackdown on guns in London

Ganga is polluted by dead bodies of animals and humans

#pollution #ganges #NarendraMod #NamamiGange #ITBP An Indo-Tibetan Border Police ITBP expedition team has revealed that one of the factors that contribute to the pollution of the River Ganga are hundreds of floating bodies of humans and animals, funeral on the banks and less flow of water in the mainstream.
This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 22 December 2015.

The revelation is by a special team of the ITBP which set off on the 'Swachh Ganga' river rafting mission on October 2 from Devprayag in Uttarakhand to Gangasagar in the Bay of Bengal. This was a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Namami Gange' project.
The 2,350-Km long expedition covered the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The ITBP teams noticed at least 20 human bodies floating in the Ganga mainstream, 200 carcasses of various animals and about 100 half-burnt or un-burnt human bodies which were lying near the banks of the holy river.
The teams also found that "90 per cent of Ganga water was diverted for irrigation" and, as a result, there was not enough water in the mainstream.
Moreover, the squad, during its 72-day long voyage, also tested and handed over to the authorities samples of Ganga water from 50 big and small cities that it passed through - they found harmful traces of Nitrate, Phosphate, Ammonia, Fluoride and Chloride in the water.
Other observations include - lots of soil erosion on Ganga's banks. Fishing and hunting of tortoises from the river are being done in excess. They did not spot any Gangetic alligator but did come across about 1,200 dolphins specific to the eco-system of this life-giving river of the country. In addition, they found excessive use of detergents and soaps on the banks of the river at several places.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Rice on rooftops – a masterplan (satire)

Didi to gift soaps and towels to kids (satire)

Saraswati and Lakshmi and their girlish talks (satire)


Juhi Chawla learns how to ride a scooty

All female pop-group Moranbong Band cancels China goodwill tour

Eagles Of Death Metal to perform at the Olympia Theatre on 16 February


No country liquor in Bihar from April - only Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL)

Thieves make away with sandalwood trees from Santiniketan

76% of butterflies vanishing in Britain - a result of climate change


1,000 British troops and Special forces going to Libya to eliminate ISIS jihadists

United States faced with Syrian refugee influx - nearly 100,000 have entered since 2012

Scotland Yard launches biggest ever crackdown on guns in London

BJP to woo people of 1649 villages on the banks of the Ganges – target UP and West Bengal assembly elections

BJP has worked out a sort of master plan to woo people who live along the banks of the River Ganges and depend on the river for their livelihood. There are a total of 1,649 villages on the banks of the Ganga — from Gomukh to Ganga Sagar. People who live on its banks comprise the mallah (boatmen), flower-sellers, Purohit (Brahmin) and others and the BJP wants to influence them – with the upcoming assembly elections in UP and West Bengal, such an action is expected to pay rich dividends.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 8 October 2015.

The BJP wants to make inroads into these villages – if it succeeds, the party could tap around 43% population of 11 states dependent on the holy river, directly or indirectly. Hence, the party has created a separate unit — Namami Gange Committee. Its objective would be to reach out to villages and make people aware about the river.
The broad plan is to conduct daily aarti at the pucca ghats and a regular weekly one at villages on the banks of Ganga – that would ensure participation of all communities from the villages in the project. Moreover, a Ganga yatra is also planned from December 25 to January 11 – it will start from Gaumukh and culminate at Ganga Sagar.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Some more interesting 'must reads'-
Skywalk planned by UP tourism department to connect Taj Mahal with Agra Fort

Undaunted by a target of 200, South Africa romp home in Dharamsala with two balls to spare

After yoga, central government promotes outdoor sports like jungle safari, rafting


Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan to promote tourism in Bengal

Sunny Leone is a guest at the PETA US’ 35th anniversary gala at the Hollywood Palladium

X-Files, Scully and Mulder to return on January 24th after a 13-year-break


ISIS harvesting organs of healthy individuals to treat the injured jihadists

US airstrike targets a hospital in Kunduz instead of Taliban outposts – 9 Doctors Without Borders members killed

Russia carries out airstrikes in Syria – targets CIA-backed rebels instead of ISIS


Durga Puja is the busiest time of the year for Kumortuli

Puja Special issues of Bengali magazines

Durga Puja today is a commercial venture

Namami Gange faces hurdles in Kanpur – clean-up of the Ganga needs experts of IITs

#NarendraModi #UmaBharti #Namamigange #IITRoorkee Clean-up of the Ganga to give it the looks of the Thames or the Danube or the Hudson is a noble intention but, given the Indian culture and mindset, it may take centuries. The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has zeroed in on one of the major culprits which is Kanpur.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 22 May 2015.

The effluent that is discharged from this city is enormous - one of the drains is Sisamau Nala which discharges the highest amount of untreated sewage (138 MLD) into the river. And, the worst part is that it passes through heavily populated and congested areas.
Relocating this vast population to make way for a Sewage Treatment Plant STP is a major challenge and, for this, experts of IIT Roorkee are being roped in. The study would take time and, till such time a solution is found, the effluent will continue to be discharged into the Ganga.
Incidentally, till now, an amount of Rs 4,168 crore has been spent in the past 29 years but no result is visible. This project is a special one for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he has assigned the task to Uma Bharti for close follow-up and implementation. Let us hope that Ganga becomes as clean as the Thames or the Danube or the Hudson and tourists can enjoy a ride and, even commute to and from cities situated on its banks.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

A few more must reads -

Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 – a once in 12-years pilgrimage

Trip to Nashik should take in Shirdi and the Ajanta and Ellora caves

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the epic Ramayana

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the Mahabharata

Kumbhmela 2015 in Nashik – guided tours to wineries and vineyards

Nashik transforms from a place of pilgrimage to an industrial hub


Activists on kayaks protest against drilling for oil in Alaska

Disenchanted with rosy promises of a life with the ISIS, three British girls escape

Over 600 stranded migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar rescued by local fishermen

British spy chiefs recruiting computer geeks for £27,913 to help fight terrorists, criminal gangs and hackers

Ancient 2000-year-old city of Palmyra in Syria targeted for destruction by ISIS

I become a detective to trace a missing consignment