Recognizing the severe condition of Sangam Prayag (the point of convergence between the Ganga, the Yamuna and the Saraswati Rivers) and understanding its significance in the upcoming 2013 Maha Kumbh Mela, Ganga Action’s Global Green Organization of Allahabad organized a week-long Ganga and Yamuna Sangam Se Udagam Jan Yatra (“People’s Journey along Ganga and Yamuna Rivers”). The main purpose of this yatra was to raise awareness of the essential nature of the Sangam and the need to restore it to its rightful state of divine purity, and to serve as a bridge between the government and the people to bring about sustainable change in time for the Mahakumbh Mela of 2013.
For the benefit of the tens of millions of pilgrims who will physically travel to the Sangam in early 2013 and also for the hundreds of millions of people who will witness the Kumbh via international media, it is crucial that the area is restored to a state of pristine and clean beauty. During the course of this journey, Ganga Action sevaks met with respected officials of the state of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Starting from Allahabad passing through Lucknow, Agra, Mathura, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Gangotri, Yamunotri, and Dehradun the yatra commenced in the nation’s capital, New Delhi, where the reflections and evaluations of the current condition of Sangam and proposed solutions were presented to Shrimati Jayanti Natrajan, Respected Minister (Incharge) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.