PARUL CHANDRA

It was a telling remark on how the Ganga remains polluted despite the crores that have been poured into projects to ensure it remains clean.

As Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, "The Ganga is not as clean as it should have been. The health of the Ganga is very poor. It leaves a lot to be desired."

The first meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) on Monday failed to agree on the sharing of costs, required to launch a fresh mission to clean up Ganga by 2020, between central and state governments. In an impromptu decision, however, the Authority decided that the endangered Gangetic dolphin will be India

Rs 15k Cr Planned For Clean-Up

TWENTY TWO years and Rs 960 crore later, the government plans to spend another Rs 15,000 crore over the next 10 years to make the Ganga river pollution free. This decision was taken at the meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said that the newly-formed National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) has miserably failed to conserve the holy river by adopting a new approach.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will chair the first meeting of the newly-constituted National Ganga River Basin Authority on Monday. On the discussion table will be a new concept

FOR several centuries the Ganga and Yamuna rivers have remained a lifeline for crores of people apart from supporting abundant aquatic life as well as other animals and birds. These rivers have been a source of reverence and inspiration for countless people and Ganga-Yamuna culture has left an indelible print on the life of India and its neighbourhood.

According to Hindu mythology, Ganga descended from the heavens to wash away human sins. She was so pure and gorgeous that the spray from her streams was enough to stir Lord Shiva's lust! But now, at parts in her course, the river Ganga reeks. She is noxiously dark. And methane bubbles keep popping on her surface.

On July 17, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh admitted that the Ganga Action

Pranesh Sarkar
KOLKATA, 28 JULY: The poor show of the CPI-M in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls might have prompted the party-led state government to take some pro-people initiatives, but Ganga (river Ganges) is yet to draw the attention of the state.

Anita Joshua

NEW DELHI: The Ganga and the Yamuna are no cleaner today than they were two decades ago, though the government is spending huge amounts on action plans for the rivers, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh told the Lok Sabha on Friday.