GAP joins annual Save Ganga Movement conference

In honour of the 84th Anniversary of Gandhjis Dandi March in the form of a Save Ganga & Save Himalayas Meeting-Panel Discussion took place in Gandhi Darsan, Rajghat, New Delhi on 12th March, 2014. It is held every year with the gracious and dedicated efforts of Smt Rama Rautaji, Convener of the Save Ganga Movement and organized by National Women’s Organization and includes the participation of a number of different organizations and institutions.

The meeting brought together revered religious leaders, dedicated experts and volunteers to reflect and have a critical discussion over the issue of what short-term and long-term time-bound course of actions we must take to save the Ganga symbolizing all rivers and water bodies and the Giriraj Himalayas, symbolizing all mountains forests and wildlife.

The resolution proposed by the organizers included the following points:

1. Accepting and implementing throughout our country the following recommendations of the Consortium of 7 IITs which is preparing the Ganga River Basin Management Plan (GRBMP).

• In place of the present policy of allowing treated sewage into our rivers, adopting the policy of zero discharge into the river, and promote Reuse and Recycle of waste water after proper treatment;

• Industries must treat their effluents and use only the recycled water.

• Organic farming should be promoted on a mass scale.

Thereby, restoring the bactericidal, health promoting, non-putrefying and self-purifying properties of the water of Ganga.

2. The highly earthquake-prone, eco-fragile, ecologically, aesthetically and religiously invaluable Uttarkhand region of the Ganga Basin must be declared Ecologically Fragile and its rivers wild rivers, and all steps must be taken to protect them and the natural eco-systems they support.

3. The Ganga must be constitutionally declared as the National River with a National Ganga Act that ensure preservation and protection of her free and unpolluted flow.

4. Implementing a policy of minimum interference with its natural flows in place of the present policy of a minimum eco-flow.

5. Promoting living that is needful and not greedful in order to maintain and protect the Ganga River Basin and our sacred natural resources.

Everybody agreed to the urgency of the problem and our need to act together as one to implement the resolution given above.

Click here to view event pictures >>