Nation committed to ensure continuous flow of Ganga from Gangotri to Ganga Sagar: Uma Bharti

Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti today said that the whole country is committed to ensure the continuous and uninterrupted flow of the River Ganga from Gangotri to the Ganga Sagar.

Speaking at a Ganga Manthan event, Bharti said we will work with full sincerity on the outcome of this dialogue.

She said, "We have had a series of discussions with various stakeholders on the issue, and will soon arrive at some positive outcome".

The minister said that she has noticed that people from every section of society, irrespective of their faiths, are committed to this cause. The minister said there won't be any shortage of funds for the Ganga Rejuvenation Programme.

Union Tourism and Culture Minister Shripada Yasso Naik gave an overview of the plans for the development of river Ganga as major tourism destination.

He said tourism spots will be developed all along the banks of the Ganga from Gangotri to Ganga Sagar.

Naik said his ministry is exploring the possibilities of introducing Shikaras on Ganga on the pattern of Kashmir.

Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari said that the government proposes to conduct dredging of the river to provide a width of 45 meters and five meters draft (depth) to enable navigation of small ships between Varanasi and Hoogly in the first stage of its development.

He said barrages are proposed to be constructed at every 100 kilometers on the river. Gadkari said his ministry has sent a proposal in this regard to the World Bank for the development of the Allahabad- Haldia corridor.

The day long dialogue was organized by National Mission for Clean Ganga which is being attended by large number of delegates from different parts of the country and abroad.

The dialogue will have four different sessions on "Ganga and Sanskriti" (for Spiritual Leaders), "Public Participation for Ganga" (for Public Representatives and Administrators), "Aviral and Nirmal Ganga" (for NGOs and Environmentalists) and "Comprehensive and Sustainable Solutions" (for Academicians and Technocrats).