Universities and schools need to take a lead role in cleaning the River Ganga said Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Govt of India while delivering the keynote address at the first edition of the monthly webinar series ‘Igniting Young Minds, Rejuvenating Rivers with universities and schools.’
Speaking further on the initiatives, Mr Mishra informed that cultural mapping also would be undertaken to identify heritage spots, trees, ports and buildings that are along the path. Tangible and intangible heritage would be documented.
Elaborating on the River Ganga Mr Mishra said that a river is not just water but it has aquatic life, basins, sand banks, tributaries and supports human, plant and aquatic life.
Ganga Quest Quiz
The Ganga Quest Quiz is a major digital initiative to spread awareness on River Ganga conducted by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India. Bhawna Badola, CEO, Tree Craze Foundation said that the quiz is open to all not just for students but is even open to retired employees.” A live quiz is scheduled on June 5, 2021.
Universities gung-ho on courses on water management
In what can be termed as a welcome change, the representatives of all participating universities in the webinar including Shobit University, KIIT, ITM University, Pratap University and GH Goenka University showed interest in staring micro and accredited courses on water management. Kunwar Shekar Vijendra, Co-Founder & Chancellor, Shobit University, Meerut announced that his university would be starting a micro certification course ‘Ganga My Life, My Pride’.”
Similarly, Dr Sasmita Samanta, Pro Vice Chancellor, KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar said that the university runs a MTech program on water resource management. Prof (Dr.) Tabrez Ahmad, Vice Chancellor, GD Goenka University, Gurugram opined that a lot could be done on the the law front by framing a regulation.
The need for igniting a spark said Dr Vikas singh, Vice Chancellor, ITM University would go a long way and students from higher education could come up with ideas for issues around water. Dr Abhay Kumar, Vice Chancellor, Pratap University, Jaipur said that the River Ganaga that flows for 2525 km represents the culture and the thought process of people. It touches everyone. He concurred with the view of Kunwar Shekar Vijendra who advocated for all educational institutions and universities on the pathway of the Ganga to work on projects related to the rejuvenation of the river.
Prof (Dr.) Tabrez Ahmad, Vice Chancellor, GH Goenka University, Gurugram was of the opinion that there are hundreds of tributaries and there is a lot of dependence on river cycle and there is a need to rejuvenate the tributaries that are lifeless.
