Ganga clean-up and revival plan to be ready in next 90 days: Uma Bharti

Uma Bharti, the minister for water resources and river development, said on Sunday the government was seeking the advice of scientists to clean up the Ganga without stopping development projects.

Uma Bharti, the minister for water resources and river development, said on Sunday the government was seeking the advice of scientists to clean up the Ganga without stopping development projects.

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With the help of a committee of scientists, ministers, environmentalists and saints, the government will frame a working programme to clean up and revive the Ganga in 90 days, she said. Revival of other sick rivers shall also be charted out, she said. She made the announcements on Ganga Dussehra, the anniversary of the day the Ganga River is believed to have descended on earth. Addressing a press conference at Divya Prem Sewa Mission on Sunday afternoon, Bharti said, “Revival of Ganga will benefit all. We want Ganga to be pure and clean with the help of high technology. A detailed programme is underway and scientists of IIT-Roorkee and Kanpur are working on it. From Hooghly to Banaras, the Ganga will be cleaned. Ministers of four departments, environment, tourism, shipping and water resources are working together for this purpose.”

A programme will be charted out which is development friendly and at the same time allows flow of Ganga unbridled, she said. She said that Modi was the “Bhagirathi of modern Bharat.”

Earlier, she met yoga guru Baba Ramdev at Patanjali Yogpeeth. He supported her efforts to clean-up the Ganga. He added that the exercise was as good as
worshipping the river.