#Ganga

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A One-of-Its -Kind Tent City in Varanasi

On the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off M V Ganga touted as the longest river cruise in the world, the one-of-its-kind tent city was also inaugurated on January 13 in Varanasi. The projects, according to PM Modi, will increase trade, tourism, and job opportunities in eastern India. He also laid the foundation stones for many waterways projects totaling more than Rs 1,000 crore in Varanasi. The Varanasi Development Authority has developed The Tent City on the banks of the Ganga with the help of a public-private partnership in an effort to boost tourism in the area. Tourists will be able to stay there and enjoy live classical music, yoga classes, and other recreational facilities. The Tent City can be accessed by a number of boats plying through the different ghats in Varanasi. According to the news agency PTI, the Tent City would operate from October to June before being disassembled for three months due to the rise in river water levels during the rainy season. Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, and Sarbananda Sonowal, the minister of shipping and waterways, were both in Varanasi for the event. PM Modi participated in the event virtually. The Tent City, MV Ganga cruise, and the inauguration of several waterways will all go a long way in boosting tourism in Uttar Pradesh.

16 Jan 2023

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The Epic Journey: Exploring India on the MV Ganga, the World’s Longest River Cruise

India has a huge potential for river tourism and the exciting news is that the MV Ganga Vilas cruise is a step towards unlocking it. On January 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off MV Ganga, the world’s longest river cruise from Varanasi. Union Minister of ports, shipping, and waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal said that the luxury cruise will cover a distance of more than 3,200 km across 27 river systems in 5 states in India and Bangladesh. The MV Ganga Vilas vessel is 62 meters long, and 12 meters wide, and sails well with a 1.4-meter draft. It features three decks, 18 suites, a capacity of 36 passengers, and all the amenities to give travelers a pleasant and lavish experience. An official statement states that the 51-day cruise is scheduled to stop at 50 popular tourist destinations, including World Heritage Sites, National Parks, river Ghats, and important cities like Patna in Bihar, Sahibganj in Jharkhand, Kolkata in West Bengal, Dhaka in Bangladesh, and Guwahati in Assam. The ship is built with sustainability concepts at its core and has technologies for noise reduction and pollution-free operations. 32 Swiss tourists will enjoy the Varanasi to Dibrugarh excursion on the MV Ganga Vilas' inaugural trip. The MV Ganga Vilas is scheduled to arrive in Dibrugarh on March 1st, 2023. The MV Ganga's itineraries take passengers through some of the most stunning and culturally significant regions of India. Passengers can visit ancient temples, palaces, and holy sites, as well as experience traditional Indian culture and cuisine. Overall, the MV Ganga offers a unique and immersive way to experience the beauty and diversity of India, making it a must-do for travelers seeking a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

9 Jan 2023

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10 City Plan To Clean Ganga

To resolve the problem of sewer water in River Ganga, the centre has come up with a 10 city plan. According to which 10 major cities will have sewage treatment installations. The cities include Haridwar, Kanpur, Varanasi, Patna and Kolkata which contribute nearly 65 percent of the total polluted water flowing into the river. These sewage treatment plants (STPs) will take three years to be fully functional. An official of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), the nodal agency for executing Namami Gange programme, these sewage treatment plants (STPs) would ensure 100 percent sewage treatment and would be a major step towards cleaning the river.

13 Feb 2018

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WWI Takes Active Steps To Protect River Ganga

In a bid to protect the river Ganga, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) plans to encourage people living on its banks to give up farming on forest land as well as fishing and find alternative means of livelihood. The forest department along with the Wildlife Institute of India visited Rawli village in Bijnor and urged villagers not to encroach on forest land. Having no other option of livelihood, the villagers living on the banks of Ganga practice vegetable farming on the sand of the river which is detrimental to the river. The joint team of the WII and forest department once found several nets in the river while they were conducting a dolphin census. Since fishing also leads to polluting the river, the WWI plans to encourage villagers to take up professions that suit them the best without polluting the river. The WII is surveying the villages to find out alternative employment for the villagers. They will then send it to the central government for approval. It will train the villagers in particular activities and also arrange for loans for them. Some idea of possible alternate livelihoods for the villagers includes making carpets and furniture from reed. Vipul Maurya, a research associate of Wildlife Institute of India, said that the WII aims to conserve wildlife as well as the community around it. Illegal farming on the sand of river and fishing have adversely affected the wildlife and the river. Surveys are being conducted in all villages on the bank of the river. Later, a plan will be devised to motivate the villagers for self-employment so that wildlife can be saved.

28 Dec 2017

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NGT Imposes Ban On Plastic In Haridwar, Rishikesh

With the intent to protect river Ganga from getting polluted, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday, put a ban on the use, sale, purchase and storage of plastic items along river Ganga. NGT said the ban on plastic will extend from Haridwar’s Har Ki Pauri, Rishikesh and upper areas in Uttarkashi. The government had imposed a ban earlier, but nobody was adhering to it and people continued to pollute the rivers. This has resulted in more strict measures being enforced. According to NGT, those who will violate the ban will be fined a sum of Rs 5,000. A committee was set up to inspect the execution of directions of the environment protection body on cleaning of the river and to submit a report on the progress that had been made towards rejuvenating the river. An implementation-cum-progress report was asked to be submitted to the tribunal by the committee every three months. The NGT is doing its best to protect the river. It imposed a ban on all construction activities within 100 metres of the river edge. It also prohibited dumping of waste within 500 metres from the river and put a hefty fine on the offenders.

15 Dec 2017

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Preserving Traditional Songs on Ganga

For many centuries, the Dhol community that dwells on the banks of the Ganga from Uttarkashi to Haridwar has been singing traditional songs on the river Ganges. The songs capture the essence of the river and the changes that have taken place over the ages. As this treasure trove of songs is fast disappearing, a retired professor of Lady Irwin College in Delhi has started the process of recording and preserving the traditional songs. Professor Anjali Capila believes that these songs can be used to spread mass awareness about the importance of the river and build an emotional connect. She is assisted by many Delhi and Uttarakhand based NGOs in this endeavour. Capila said that she wants to capture the voice of people of Dhol community who have been singing songs on the Ganges for ages. Apart from stories related to their culture, the songs also depict their feelings on limiting the river flow through hydro-power dams and pollution of the holy river. Fearing that these momentous traditional songs might get lost into oblivion with the old generation, Capila started the marathon task of recording them to pen them in a book in Hindi with English translation and audio later on. With rapt attention, Capila listens to a song sung by Utma Devi, a resident of Matli village, about how they would go quite early in the morning to collect water from the holy river in a pot to sprinkle it all over her house to purify it. And also how women would share their joys and sorrows with each other on the banks of the river. Manoj Pandey, secretary, Himalaya Seva Sangh, part of the project said that they would encourage the school going children and youngsters to take forward this age-old tradition of songs on river Ganges and preserve it for future generation.

31 Oct 2017

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Namami Ganga mission gets a boost

In order to speed up the projects related to Ganga cleaning, the ministry of water resources will allow people and independent organizations to take up cleaning stretches of Ganga by applying to the National Mission for Clean Ganga directly. To avoid bureaucratic delays, the tendering process has been simplified and a committee of officials has been appointed to approve the projects and monitor their implementation. By way of this, the National Mission for Clean Ganga has approved eight projects worth Rs 700 crore, out of which four pertain to sewage management in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, three are related to the treatment of drains through bio-remediation and one of inventorisation and surveillance of river Ganga. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently laid the foundation stone for setting up four STPs of 140 MLD of capacity in Patna on October 14 which would cost Rs 738.14 crore. Union minister Nitin Gadkari said that by December, all the tender related work of these projects would be completed and work orders would be issued by March next year. He asserted that there will be a lot of improvement in water quality of the Ganga by March 2019. He had also said that the government will ensure transparent and corruption-free implementation of the project.

18 Oct 2017

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National Green Tribunal adopts new strategy

In a move that would be very beneficial for the conservation and protection of river Ganga, the National Green Tribunal on Thursday directed that 100 meters from the edge of Ganga between Haridwar in Uttarakhand and Unnao in Uttar Pradesh should be treated as "no construction or no development zones. The NGT was disappointed about the fact that all the previous measures and schemes which spent crores to clean up Ganga has not only failed to yield the desired results but also led to an increase in pollution levels. Therefore, the tribunal had come up with a new strategy for the Ganga Project. It also ordered that anybody who is found dumping any kind of waste in the river will have to pay an environmental compensation of Rs 50,000. Advocate MC Mehta had filed a petition against pollution in river Ganga. In a judgment, NGT directed that dumping and landfill sites of any kind will not be allowed within 500 meters from the edge of the river or any of its tributaries. The judgment was in connection to the Haridwar to Unnao stretch where disposal of municipal solid waste, electronic-waste or bio-medical waste on the floodplains or into Ganga or its tributaries is totally prohibited.

14 Jul 2017

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Uttarakhand High Court gives Ganga and Yamuna 'living entitiy' status

In a move that will help to clean the pollution choked rivers, the Uttarakhand high court on Monday declared the Ganga and Yamuna living entities which will bestow on them the legal rights of a person. Ganga and Yamuna are held sacred by millions of Hindus and this order will enable complaints to be filed in the name of the two rivers. The order gives the Centre eight weeks to set up boards for cleaning and maintaining the rivers. A person will be designated to act on behalf of the rivers which will be considered as a natural person. The director general of Namami Gange project, the Chief Secretary and the Advocate General of Uttarakhand have been given the right to represent the rivers by a bench of justice Rajeev Sharma and justice Alok Singh. They will work as the human face to protect, conserve and preserve them and their tributaries. The world’s third largest river, the Ganga is the holiest river for the Hindus, but sadly, it is also among the dirtiest in the world, as toxic wastes are discharged into it. It is respectfully referred to as Maa Ganga (Mother Ganga) for the water it provides to millions. The Yamuna is its largest tributary and originates from Yamunotri in Uttarakhand. Prior to this order, New Zealand’s Whanganui River was the only river in the world to be granted the living entity status.

22 Mar 2017

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Positive Reads

Dev Deepawali – Festival of a Million Lights

Dev Deepawali is celebrated in Varanasi to mark Lord Shiva’s victory over the demon Tripurasur. It is celebrated 15 days after Diwali and is also called Tripurotsav. This festival observed on Kartik Pournima (the full moon day of Kartik month) is also a grand festival of lights, just like Diwali but its rituals are conducted in a different manner. Holy Dip And Deepdan On the morning of Dev Deepawali, a large number of devotees flock on the banks of river Ganges to take a dip in the sacred river. In the evening, prayers are offered to the holy river and the ghats come alive with the splendor of a thousand lights. This act of offering lit up diyas or lamps to Ganga is called Deepdan. It is not only the ghats, but all temples in this holy city are lit up with lamps that make for a grand spectacle. A Tourist Destination Varanasi becomes a place of tourist attraction as people from all over the world flock there to witness the grand Dev Deepawali celebrations. While many take a morning bath in the Ganges which is also called the Kartik Snan, the major attraction is the Ganga Aarti which draws huge crowds. You cannot contain the wonder on beholding the sight of the banks of the Ganga lit up with more than a thousand lighted lamps. It appears as if a thousand stars have descended on earth and the memory of this illuminated city will stay with you for a long time. Apart from the grand festivities, Dev Diwali is also an occasion when the city remembers its martyrs. Officers of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force participate in the ceremony wherein wreaths are laid at the Amar Jawan Jyoti on the famous Dashashwamedh Ghat. The breathtaking view of a thousand lights offered to river Ganga is an unforgettable experience that draws crowds from all over the world to Varanasi on the occasion of Dev Diwali.

21 Oct 2019

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Meet 60-year-old Gangavva Milkuri Who Is a Social Media Star

Youngsters these days are making the best use of social media by creating contents that are not only class apart but are also relatable. However, it’s not always necessary to fall under a certain age category when it comes to establishing a name in this industry. 60-year-old Gangavva Milkuri has won several hearts and today she is a YouTube sensation. Crossing the Hurdles to Create a Beautiful Life They say always expect the unexpected because life is full of surprises. Gangavva didn’t have any idea that she’ll become a social media star one day when she started working in her in-laws’ farmlands in Telangana or rolling beedis. She also didn’t know that life would be beautiful after all the hardships when her alcoholic husband was torturing her. When Life Took a Positive Direction A turning point in her life came when she appeared in My Village Show. She started garnering a lot of recognition through her performances and her fan list kept extending. The YouTube channel is run by Srikanth Sriram and his friends and they found this sheer talent while shooting a video. One of the videos (Vari Kotha Ainaka) featuring her was based on farmers. People loved her performance and bestowed her with praises. While talking about it with The News Minute, Anil Geela who also runs the YouTube channel said: "I think that's her best performance till date. She really started crying in one of the scenes which highlights the apathy shown towards farmers." Gangavva is also getting noticed by the Telegu movie industry due to her terrific performances and has even been a part of film promotion events. This 60-year-old enthusiastic woman is the perfect definition of the saying, age is just a number. Gangavva was not born with a golden spoon but, she surpassed every hurdle and created a beautiful life for herself. She is in her sixties today but, is still full of enthusiasm and passion. Image Courtesy: My Village Show Video: Gangavva Beram adite | My Village Show Comedy

23 Jul 2019

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