NMCG initiates cleaning of Yamuna Ghat in Delhi

Kalindi Kunj Ghat on the Yamuna River was cleaned on Monday as part of the Namami Gange project of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG). The cleanliness drive focused on freeing the Yamuna Ghat of plastic and solid wastes.

Director General of NMCG Rajiv Ranjan Mishra took part in the drive alongside his colleague Rozy Agarwal and hundreds of volunteers of NMCG, Swach Bharat Abhiyan, employees of HCL and Union Bank of India among others.

"Since Kalindi Kunj Ghat is not a cemented one, the process of cleaning it was a little difficult," said Rozy Agarwal , NMCG Executive Director, Finance.

"Under the leadership of Prime Minister and at his behest, we are carrying out this drives at various Ghats in the country. We are also trying to connect people to these drives. There are several of our stakeholders, like SDMC, HCL, employees of various banks and other volunteers and I would like to thank them for their efforts. These people are walking hand-in-hand with the National Mission for Clean Ganga and are helping us tremendously in our Ganga rejuvenation program. NMCG is also executing various projects with an aim to cleanse the Ganga River and we are planning several other projects for the restoration of Ganga as well, like installation of Sewage Treatment Plants, projects for pollution abetment, reconstruction of Ghats and Crematoriums alongside biodiversity conservation. We are also carrying out a project of tree plantation in the five kilometre range of the Ganga ghats. With that, we also aim for public participation in the programs because until and unless the general public takes up the cause, it will not be possible to cleanse Ganga," said Agarwal.

NMCG has been running various projects to clean River Ganga of all the waste by 2020. Steps have been taken by NMCG to modernise Ghats and various projects have been taken up for regular cleaning of Ghats in Varanasi, Haridwar, Mathura, Vrindavan, Kanpur and Allahabad among others. The cleaning of the Kalindi Kunj Ghat is a part of such projects. Stressing on the need for such drives, the volunteers too urged the general public to take part in the mission and keep the rivers, which cater to the needs of millions of Indians, clean and healthy.

Nandita Pathak, Brand Ambassador for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, expressed happiness over how these drives are influencing general public to take up the cause to keep the rivers clean.

"It is a moment of pride for all of us here. I'm the Brand Ambassador (for the Swachh Bharat Mission campaign) and have contributed to the making of nav-ratna (nine jewels of the country) -- be it Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh or the Southern part of India. What we have witnessed in the last three-four years is commendable. Earlier, people due to lack of knowledge used to spit anywhere, throw their waste at any place. But things have changed tremendously in the last few years, thanks to these initiatives by the government. I also move around the country and I have seen people actively participate in these drives and I have witnessed the scenario changing. This is not only making the environment cleaner but also healthy. These drives must continue," Pathak said.

NMCG holds several such drives to clean the ghats in Delhi and other parts of the country. Earlier in July too, NMCG had cleaned Kalindi Kunj ghat as part of the Namami Gange project in the run up to the World Environment Day. At that time, more than 15 trucks full of waste collected from the ghat and the river was transported for proper disposal. More than 300 people had participated in the drive as per reports.