Wing Commander to sail through four states to Promote Ganga conservation

BIJNOR: In a bid to promote the country’s major lifeline and conserve its biodiversity , a team led by wing commander Paramvir Singh would be sailing down the mighty Ganga from Uttarakhand to West Bengal - passing through at least 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and parts of Bihar on the way. Singh’s difficult task would be to highlight the goals of rejuvenation and conservation of the holy river as part of the National Mission for Clean Ganga.

The wing commander and his team, who are planning to interact with locals, particularly students, would start their month-long journey from Devprayag on October 10. And their journey is scheduled to conclude in West Bengal on November 12.

Divulging the details on Sunday, district panchayat raj officer (DPRO), Satish Kumar, said, “The expedition group will travel through the Ganga on boats. Their task would be to make the people more aware. It is aimed at promoting the conservation of Ganga under the important National Mission for Clean Ganga. Awareness programmes will be held under the supervision of district Ganga committees. A stipulated fund will also be released. Currently, a fund of Rs 2.5 lakh has been fixed for each district.”

The 18-member expedition group is scheduled to pass through UP districts of Bijnor, Hapur, Bulandshahr , Budaun , Farrukhabad, Kannauj, Kanpur, Fatehpur, Pratapgarh, Prayagraj, Mirzapur, Varanasi and Ghazipur. The team plans to halt in every district and hold a series of awareness programmes. A six-member team will travel simultaneously by road.

One such halt will be Bijnor in UP on October 13 for which preparation is currently underway, local administration said, adding that the team will reach Kanpur on October 19 and Varanasi on October 25. “We are preparing for the journey which will be full of cultural activities. The expedition team will halt in Bijnor on October 13. Ganga ‘aarti’ and ‘diyas’ will be part of the programme,” the DPRO added.