Yogi promises cleaner Ganga by Maha Kumbh

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while reviewing the Namami Gange development project in Kanpur on Monday, said that the UP government was committed to making Ganga clean and sacred and the project would be completed on time. He added all drains would be tapped between Bijnore and Ballia by December 15 and the Ganga would be made clean for the Maha Kumbh by January 15. He later dedicated 20 renovated ghats and said the Ganga Task Force had been set up to prevent any kind of pollution.

He pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had allocated `20,000 crore for Namami Gange project and `8,900 crore had specially been allotted for UP. He said 10 major cities were the root cause behind Ganga pollution and added that maximum pollution was from Kanpur. He said under the project the target was to tap two major drains out of which the Sisamau tapping was on the verge of completion while the work on the second drain would take off in August. He said the work between Ayodhya and Garmukteshwar was continuing in full swing specially on account of the cooperation extended by the River Development and Ganga Conservation Ministry. He visited Ganga barrage and Bhairon ghat for a surprise inspection and expressed satisfaction over the development work of the project. He expressed gratitude to Water Resource, River Development and Ganga Conservation Minister Nitin Gadkari for his generosity towards setting up STPs (Systematic Transfer Plan) and also funds allocated for highways. He cautioned lax officials stating that they would not be spared for the delay in the completion of the project or the compromise on the quality of work.

Addressing the gathering at CSA University of Agriculture and Technology during the dedication of 20 renovated ghats, Gadkari assured the CM that there would be no crisis of funds for the project. He invited the DPR (Detailed Project Report) on Ganga Basin and said if found feasible the project would be ratified in one week’s time and said no work related to Ganga cleaning would be stalled on account of funds crunch.

Gadkari announced that soon the Bio-CNG project would start in Kanpur and added the amount of solid waste generated from Kanpur could successfully run 5000 buses in an eco-friendly manner. He said  the Centre was also about to release `5,000 crore for the Kanpur-Lucknow Expressway and said once that was successfully completed travel between the two cities would take hardly 40 minutes. He assured the gathering that all sewage projects in Kanpur would be completed within the next three months.

Earlier, the CM was scheduled to visit Sisamau drain and see the tapping work there but instead he first reached Ganga barrage and then visited Bhairon ghat where he personally reviewed the development works. He then reached the CSA where he addressed a rally along with Gadkari, MP, Kanpur, Murli Manohar Joshi and Urban Development Minister Suresh Khanna, Industrial Development Minister Satish Mahana.