Union ministers, chief ministers, to meet on Ganga

Two chief ministers, six union ministers and eminent policy makers will meet here on January 30 to discuss how to clean the Ganga and keep it that way.

The meeting will also see the participation of 1,649 Gram Pradhans in a bid to involve the villages which dot the route of the 2,525-km long river that originates in the higher reaches of Uttarakhand.

The meeting has been organised by the National Mission for Clean Ganga.

Among those who will attend are the chief ministers of Uttarakhand and Jharkhand and union Ministers Smriti Irani, Mahesh Sharma, S Sonowal, Chaudhary Birender Singh, Shripad Yesso Naik and Nitin Gadkari, said an official release. Policy makers and NGOs will also take part.

"Aimed at bringing all the stakeholders on a single platform, the consultation and sensitization programme is a national dialogue on Ganga," it said.

The meeting will draw on ideas that will give a better insight for framing a strategic long-term policy for restoration of the river which Hindus consider holy, the release said.