The Utsav marked the 8th anniversary of the Ganga being declared as the National River. Arpita Banerjee of CXO News and APAC News Network reports on the different activities that were celebrated on the occasion.
National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) organized the Ganga Utsav 2024 on 4th November at Chandi Ghat, Haridwar. This marked the 8-year anniversary of the declaration of the Ganga River as the National River. The Union Minister for Jal Shakti, C R Patil inaugurated the Ganga Utsav 2024 in the presence of Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Raj Bhushan Chaudhary and Uttarakhand Minister for Women & Child Welfare, Rekha Arya. The Secretary of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Debashree Mukherjee also graced the occasion.
Further, Union Minister for Jal Shakti, C R Patil highlighted the Prime Minister’s message that the Ganga benefits 600 million people of this country. The river is revered as a moth and it gives selflessly without taking. The primary aim of the festival is to promote river conservation emphasizing its cultural significance.
He urged for Jan Samarthan (public support) which is essential for conserving Ganga River, as it requires a collective and holistic effort from everyone. The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami also promoted through video message the conservation of Ganga River.
Ganga Women Rafting Expedition
A 50-day-long women’s rafting expedition was flagged off at the Ganga Utsav which will conclude at Ganga Sagar navigating through 9 major cities and towns across the banks of the Ganga River. The BSF River Rafting team was felicitated on this occasion.
‘Ganga Pustak Parikrama’
The National Book Trust (NBT) Bus was also flagged off as part of the Ganga Utsav 2024. The NBT bus with literature regarding river Ganga carries out ‘Ganga Pustak Parikrama’ with the theme ‘Ganges through the ages: A Literary Bioscope’. The bus will travel through 10 major cities in the 5 riparian states along the Ganga River basin.
This eighth edition was the first of its kind event to be held on the riverbank, with celebrations extending across 139 districts in the states on the Ganga basin . Each state hosted a main event organized by the District Ganga Committees. This year’s event saw participation from several river cities under the River City Alliance, an organization that includes 145 river cities nationwide.
The festival featured a “Ghat Par Haat” market with stalls highlighting various aspects of the Namami Gange initiative. Many engaging activities were organized for children including quizzes, film screenings, magic shows, puppet shows, street plays, and drawing & painting competitions.
