By March 2019 about 80% of Ganga will be clean : Gadkari

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shipping, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari on August 30, 2018, said at Mumbai that it is feasible to achieve the target of cleaning almost 70%-80% of river Ganga by March 2019 and the whole river by March 2020. He said that private sector support and funding through Hybrid Annuity Model are two instruments which would be pivotal in facilitating this.

Elaborating further on National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), Gadkari said that the focus is on ten major towns which discharge almost 64% of total sewage. Focus is also on the tributaries of Ganges discharging dirty water into the river, he said.

Gadkari further spoke about turning the waste coming into rivers into wealth. He cited the example of Mathura refinery, where the waste water generated is being reused in power plants or for purposes like cleaning railways. He even cited the example of capturing methane emanating from waste and using it as fue, according to a PIB release.

The Minister further said that rivers in India are important from religious, economic and tourist points of view. He gave the example of Varanasi-Haldia waterway and said it will soon enable transport of cargo through waterways well up to Myanmar and Bangladesh. He said that 60 river-ports will be developed and River Traffic Control System will be developed on the lines of Air Traffic Control System.

The cleaning of Ganga will not be possible until surrounding villages are clean, the Minster said. In this regard, 4,500 villages on the banks of Ganga have become Open Defecation Free and 10 crore trees are being planted along its banks. Trash skimmers are deployed in 11 cities viz. Delhi, Haridwar, Garhmukteshwar, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, Sahibganj, Howrah, Mathura-Vrindavan and Nabadwip.

Alongwith cleaning of the Ganga, the access to the origin of the river will be made available round the year. He mentioned the plan to develop all-weather roads to Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath at a cost of Rs 12,000 crore.