Ganga Clean Initiative

The Clean Ganga Project

Ganga River is believed to be one of India's holiest rivers with cultural and spiritual significance attributed to it by the people. Despite its importance and religious beliefs associated with it, the river is facing extreme pollution which is posing a great threat to its biodiversity. Recognizing the river Ganga as the country's heritage, and giving an impetus to its conservation, Industrial discharges of sewage, pesticides and the rotting remains of dead bodies have increased the pollution levels in the Ganges over the years despite government promises to clean up the country’s most sacred river. The Government of India has declared it a "National River". When creating awareness about keeping our rivers clean, it is important to realize that it requires a change in people's attitudes and participation.

Sangam is the point where the brown water of the Ganga meets the green water of the Yamuna, along with the mythical Saraswati, which remains unseen but is believed to run underground. It is located about 7 km from Civil Lines, overlooked by the eastern ramparts of the Akbar Fort in Prayagraj. A dip in the Sangam water is supposed to be the holiest of the holy pilgrimages for the devout Hindu. Millions of pilgrims, Sadhu Sant, and tourists take a holy bath every year.

 

With an objective to make the Ganga clean and eco-friendly The RAH Foundation team has decided to organize a clean Ganga initiative to save the river at Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.

The initiative was mainly focused on involving and educating priests and religious leaders, who will further sensitize the people to not dump the corpses and puja material in the river to restore its cleanliness and continuity.

Prior to the drive, volunteers divided into groups and spread all over the Sangam area and gave cleanliness-related information to the public and made an appeal to the people to avoid throwing garbage in the holy river and use dustbins. This ensured that along with the RAH Foundation team, community members also participated in the cleanliness drive.

After the drive, the RAH Foundation team had one-to-one conversations with the people and spread the message to keep the holy river clean, they tried to realize them their role and responsibilities toward Mother land and the Holy river. Every passerby appreciated the initiative.