Building Bridges for Change: A Green Vision

According to experts, many of the lives lost due to last years tragedy could have been safeguarded, if only the right precautions had been taken to protect property, infrastructure, the environment and safety. Ganga Action Parivar feels that now is the time to act, so that future lives can be better protected, and the delicate ecosystem of the Himalayas can be permitted to survive and thrive.

To help ensure this vision, Ganga Action Parivar, Project Hope, and the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance have been meeting and planning with international, national and local experts, policy makers, scientists and other professionals to develop green programs and recommendations for Uttarakhand.

Among those we’ve been working with are experts, scientists and volunteers from DRDO, FICCI, BHEL, THDC, TERI, HESCO, WII, Wadia Institute, GB Pant Institute, PSI, ISRO, ASI, GSI, Navdanya, Rotary, Emami Foundation, Organic India and many others, alongside policy makers, including Union Ministers, Chief Ministers, the press and local officials. Click www.projecthope-india.org for a full list of our many partners.

Working hand-in-hand, we plan to continue implementing initiatives that will help Uttarakhand’s Himalayas to realize a green future, and its citizens to have access to new, environmentally-friendly solutions towards happier, healthier, more selfsufficient and safer lives. Such work is providing a model as to how economic progress can co-exist with issues including environmental conservation, the prevention of unnecessary migration to urban areas, sustainable economies, infrastructure and tourism, access for all to basic resources, disaster prevention, and cultural Project Hope also is hosting important events concerning the sustainable future of Uttarakhand.

On the occasion of Christmas Eve, for example, experts including revered environmentalists, the Governor of Uttarakhand, the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand and other esteemed individuals, took part in a high-level meeting hosted by Ganga Action Parivar  and Project Hope. On that day, some of India’s most brilliant minds assembled at Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh, to discuss crucial ideas and make future plans for the redevelopment of the disaster-torn state.

In October, 1,000 journalists proudly raised their hands alongside HH Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, founder of Ganga Action Parivar , as well as the then Minister of Water Resources, Government of India, Shri Harish Rawat (now Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister) and H.E. the Hon’ble Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Shri B. L. Joshi, in support of the world’s first Media Social Responsibility Proclamation. At this historic occasion, all raised hands to proclaim their earnest desire to do all they can to ensure a greener, more sustainable future for our Ganga River basin and disaster-stricken areas. Project Hope continues to bring stakeholders together in the spirit of one family, working together towards a green vision and action for our beautiful Himalayas, its population and its ecology.