Arpita Banerjee from CXO News and the APAC News Network describes about the variety of activities which were celebrated on this occasion.
This year’s Ganga Utsav 2024 was organized by NMCG on November 4 at Chandi Ghat, Haridwar, to mark the 8-year anniversary of Ganga River being declared as the National River. The Ganga Utsav 2024 was inaugurated by the Union Minister for Jal Shakti C R Patil, along with the Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Chaudhary and Uttarakhand Minister for Women and Child Welfare Rekha Arya, while Secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti Debashree Mukherjee was also present.
Union Minister for Jal Shakti, C R Patil, further stated that the Prime Minister said 600 million people of this country benefit from the Ganga. The Ganga is considered a mother and gives without taking. Thus, the most important objective of the festival becomes the conservation of rivers focusing on their culture.
He called for Jan Samarthan (public support) which will be necessary in conserving the Ganga river, which calls for a collective and holistic effort from each one. The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami also promoted through video message the conservation of the Ganga River.
Ganga Women Rafting Expedition
Women rafting expedition of 50 days was flagged-off at the Ganga Utsav, which will culminate at Ganga Sagar traversing through 9 major cities and towns along the banks of the Ganga River. The BSF River Rafting team was awarded a memento at this event.
The National Book Trust (NBT) Bus was flagged off by the NMCG as part of Ganga Utsav 2024. The NBT bus carries literature regarding river Ganga and is undertaking ‘Ganga Pustak Parikrama’ themed on ‘Ganges through Ages: A Literary Bioscope.’ The bus will travel across 10 major cities in the 5 riparian states along the Ganges River basin.
This eighth edition was the first such event to be held on the banks of a river and celebrated in 139 districts of the states on the Ganga basin. Main events were organized in each state by the District Ganga Committees. Several river cities participated this year under River City Alliance, which comprises 145 river cities across the country.
The festival had a “Ghat Par Haat” market to showcase stalls on various aspects of Namami Gange initiative. Many activities were conducted for kids like quizzes, film shows, magic shows, puppet shows, street plays, drawing & painting competitions.
