NGO Narayan Seva Sansthan (NSS) has set up a spiritual and surgical camp at the ongoing Kumbh Mela, along with an artificial limb development unit.

Prashant Agarwal, President of Narayan Seva Sansthan, speaking to reporters here Thursday said senior surgeon Amar Singh Chundawat's team will be measuring differently-abled individuals for making customised limbs for them, which will then be installed and donated to the beneficiaries.

"We will conduct surgeries free of cost," he said.

The NGO has set up a 100-bed hospital at the fair site at the sacred&nbsp;confluence of the Ganga, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati.&nbsp;

Agarwal said the NGO has invited volunteers from all across the country and divided them in three groups -- for cleanliness, operation of wheelchairs, and foot massage of devotees.

"The 'Swachh Army' deals with cleanliness in the mela. The 'Wheelchair Army' will help the elderly, who are unable to walk, or disabled. They provide wheelchair and help them to enjoy the Kumbh Mela. The 'Foot Massage Army' will help pilgrim and saints by giving them a massage," the president of the Udaipur-based NGO said.

He said the NSS had operated on 3.7 lakh patients in the past 33 years and has provided them socio-economic support by making available best of medical services, medicines and technologies free of cost.

"Out of 3.7 lakh patients, around 2 lakh patients were from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar," he said.

The 2019 Kumbh Mela commenced on January 15 on Makar Sankranti and will come to an end on Mahashivratri on March 4. More than 12 crore people are expected to take part in the festival over the next 50 days.&nbsp;

NGO Narayan Seva Sansthan (NSS) has set up a spiritual and surgical camp at the ongoing Kumbh Mela, along with an artificial limb development unit. Prashant Agarwal, President of Narayan Seva Sansthan, speaking to reporters here Thursday said senior surgeon Amar Singh Chundawat's team will be measuring differently-abled individuals for making customised limbs for them, which will then be installed and donated to the beneficiaries.

NGO Narayan Seva Sansthan (NSS) has set up a spiritual and surgical camp at the ongoing Kumbh Mela, along with an artificial limb development unit. Prashant Agarwal, President of Narayan Seva Sansthan, speaking to reporters here Thursday said senior surgeon Amar Singh Chundawat's team will be measuring differently-abled individuals for making customised limbs for them, which will then be installed and donated to the beneficiaries. "We will conduct surgeries free of cost," he said. The NGO has set up a 100-bed hospital at the fair site at the sacred confluence of the Ganga, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. Agarwal said the NGO has invited volunteers from all across the country and divided them in three groups -- for cleanliness, operation of wheelchairs, and foot massage of devotees. "The 'Swachh Army' deals with cleanliness in the mela. The 'Wheelchair Army' will help the elderly, who are unable to walk, or disabled. They provide wheelchair and help them to enjoy the Kumbh Mela. The 'Foot Massage Army' will help pilgrim and saints by giving them a massage," the president of the Udaipur-based NGO said. He said the NSS had operated on 3.7 lakh patients in the past 33 years and has provided them socio-economic support by making available best of medical services, medicines and technologies free of cost. "Out of 3.7 lakh patients, around 2 lakh patients were from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar," he said. The 2019 Kumbh Mela commenced on January 15 on Makar Sankranti and will come to an end on Mahashivratri on March 4. More than 12 crore people are expected to take part in the festival over the next 50 days.

NGO sets up 100-bed hospital at Kumbh Mela site

India prepares for Kumbh Mela, over 100 million devotees expected

Soon after eminent Ganga conservation activist G D Agarwal died after a hunger strike, our hypocrisy towards the Ganga, considered one of the holiest rivers, stands exposed once again. According to RTI data revealed in media reports, resident Indians, NRIs and PIOs contributed only a measly 2 per cent to the Clean &nbsp;Ganga Fund’s total corpus of Rs 234.98 crores.&nbsp;

The Clean Ganga Fund was started by the BJP government shortly after it assumed office in May 2014. In fact the BJP government has made cleaning the Ganga, a river that runs through several states like Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal, both a mission and a poll plank.&nbsp;

The Clean Ganga Fund is managed by the ‘Namami Gange’, the government’s flagship programme launched in June 2014 for the ‘effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga’. The budget outlay for ‘Namami Gange’ is Rs 20,000 crore.&nbsp;

But the Clean Ganga Fund was launched by the government to tap into the supposed enthusiasm of Non-resident Indian towards the conservation of the river. The Fund projected itself as a platform through which the well-off NRIs could contribute to the cleaning of the river Ganga. Perhaps the BJP had believed that its supporters abroad would donate to this holy mission with the same zeal with which they had donated to the party’s campaign funds in the 2014 election. Several media reports had then highlighted that NRI Indians are BJP’s biggest donors. However, four years down the line, this support for the BJP has not channeled into its flagship programme of Ganga’s conservation.&nbsp;

As government’s own data shows, its plan to set up "Clean Ganga Fund (CGF)" with voluntary contributions from residents of the country and Non-Resident Indian (NRIs) / Person of Indian Origin (PIO) and others has come to nought. In fact, the usual suspects made 86 per cent of the total donations to the Clean Ganga Fund - government entities like government departments, government organiations, and public sector undertakings contributed a total of Rs 163.49 crore to the fund.&nbsp;

Another Rs 19.54 crore was donated by ‘private organisations’, which came up to 10 per cent of the total Rs 234.98 crores while NRIs, PIOs and ‘individuals’ together contributed only Rs 3.76 crore, or a paltry 2 per cent of the total fund.&nbsp;

Saving the Ganga is not government’s responsibility alone, people too need to come forward and demand corrective steps that are destroying the river and its aquatic life every single day.&nbsp;

Ganga’s basin covers more than one million sq km (390,000 sq miles) and to the more than 50 crore Indians who live in this vast region, it is life-giving, as it provides for irrigation, food, drinking water and trade.&nbsp;

The government needs to introspect why even four years later its own supporters have so little trust in the Namami Gange programme and the Clean Ganga Fund that they have contributed such a negligent amount. Because in the last four years, the BJP’s own fund has continued to receive the monetary blessings of its supporters with the party’s corpus growing to multiple times that of all other parties put together.&nbsp;

At the same time, people too need to really ask themselves if they care about the Ganga. Mere lip service and holy dips is unlikely to save the mighty river.&nbsp; 
 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Soon after eminent Ganga conservation activist G D Agarwal died after a hunger strike, our hypocrisy towards the Ganga, considered one of the holiest rivers, stands exposed once again.

Soon after eminent Ganga conservation activist G D Agarwal died after a hunger strike, our hypocrisy towards the Ganga, considered one of the holiest rivers, stands exposed once again. According to RTI data revealed in media reports, resident Indians, NRIs and PIOs contributed only a measly 2 per cent to the Clean Ganga Fund’s total corpus of Rs 234.98 crores. The Clean Ganga Fund was started by the BJP government shortly after it assumed office in May 2014. In fact the BJP government has made cleaning the Ganga, a river that runs through several states like Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal, both a mission and a poll plank. The Clean Ganga Fund is managed by the ‘Namami Gange’, the government’s flagship programme launched in June 2014 for the ‘effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga’. The budget outlay for ‘Namami Gange’ is Rs 20,000 crore. But the Clean Ganga Fund was launched by the government to tap into the supposed enthusiasm of Non-resident Indian towards the conservation of the river. The Fund projected itself as a platform through which the well-off NRIs could contribute to the cleaning of the river Ganga. Perhaps the BJP had believed that its supporters abroad would donate to this holy mission with the same zeal with which they had donated to the party’s campaign funds in the 2014 election. Several media reports had then highlighted that NRI Indians are BJP’s biggest donors. However, four years down the line, this support for the BJP has not channeled into its flagship programme of Ganga’s conservation. As government’s own data shows, its plan to set up "Clean Ganga Fund (CGF)" with voluntary contributions from residents of the country and Non-Resident Indian (NRIs) / Person of Indian Origin (PIO) and others has come to nought. In fact, the usual suspects made 86 per cent of the total donations to the Clean Ganga Fund - government entities like government departments, government organiations, and public sector undertakings contributed a total of Rs 163.49 crore to the fund. Another Rs 19.54 crore was donated by ‘private organisations’, which came up to 10 per cent of the total Rs 234.98 crores while NRIs, PIOs and ‘individuals’ together contributed only Rs 3.76 crore, or a paltry 2 per cent of the total fund. Saving the Ganga is not government’s responsibility alone, people too need to come forward and demand corrective steps that are destroying the river and its aquatic life every single day. Ganga’s basin covers more than one million sq km (390,000 sq miles) and to the more than 50 crore Indians who live in this vast region, it is life-giving, as it provides for irrigation, food, drinking water and trade. The government needs to introspect why even four years later its own supporters have so little trust in the Namami Gange programme and the Clean Ganga Fund that they have contributed such a negligent amount. Because in the last four years, the BJP’s own fund has continued to receive the monetary blessings of its supporters with the party’s corpus growing to multiple times that of all other parties put together. At the same time, people too need to really ask themselves if they care about the Ganga. Mere lip service and holy dips is unlikely to save the mighty river. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Do we really care about river Ganga?

In a bid to actualise the dream of a “nirmal” and “aviral” Ganga, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said Sunday the government is looking to complete about 200 projects for ghats and crematoria by March 2019. Also, the Centre is taking various measures to ensure ecological flow or the minimum quantity of water at different stretches of the Ganga, he said. “A total of 227 projects have been taken up for the Ganga for sewage infrastructure, ghats and crematoria, river-front development, river-surface cleaning and biodiversity conservation, among others, at a cost of Rs 22,374 crore,” Gadkari, who holds Ganga rejuvenation and water resources portfolio among others, told PTI in an interview.

He further said that making the Ganga “nirmal” (cleaner) and “aviral” (free-flowing) is his dream and his ministries were taking a slew of steps in this direction. Earlier this month, the government had mandated the minimum ecological flow in the river Ganga and its tributaries required to be maintained at different points in different areas around the year with the aim of ensuring water quality and environmentally sustainable rejuvenation. The directive also requires hydropower projects along the river to modify their operations in order to comply with the notification.

“The government plans to complete 151 ghats and 54 crematoria projects by March 2019,” Gadkari, who is also in-charge of road transport and highways ministry, said. Besides monitoring water quality at 138 locations, each at the interval of 20 km, projects have been taken up for 24×7 cleaning of ghats at Varanasi, Bithoor, Kanpur, Allahabad, Mathura, Vrindavan and Haridwar to avoid solid waste disposals in the river, he said. In addition, under the bio-diversity conservation plans, several projects are being implemented for conservation and restoration of indigenous and aquatic species of the Ganga like the Gangetic dolphin, river otters, turtles and aquatic birds, the minister added.

The gazette notification on October 10 with regard to the ecological flow of the Ganga water specifies flow requirements at various stretches including from origins in the glaciers to Haridwar besides the main stretch from Haridwar in Uttarakhand to Unnao, Uttar Pradesh. Gadkari said: “With the implementation of these specifications, the river will not be dry as these specifications were a result of scientific study.” He said the directive on ecological flow for the river would result in an unhindered and continuous flow of the river water as it will ensure at least the minimum required the environmental flow of water even after its stream gets diverted by projects.

The minister said the notification also provides for direct release of additional water in the river Ganga to meet special demand as and when required. “The concerned central and state authorities shall implement demand-side management plans to reduce water withdrawal from the river Ganga by adopting good and scientific practices such as the efficient method of irrigation, reuse and recycle of water including monitoring and regulation of groundwater withdrawals for various purposes,” the notification mentioned.

There are about 1,100 industries and 4,500 villages along the Ganga. The minister last month said that cleaning works would start getting remarkably noticeable in another six months, and had claimed “transforming the river that was the distinct cultural identity of the nation was close to his heart”.

Enunciating the work for sewage infrastructure, the minister had said: “Massive initiatives have resulted in rich dividends and we have successfully created the capacity to treat 1,700 MLD sewage.” The cities located by the side of the river produce 2,950 MLD sewage and if steps to purify the water were not taken this in another 15 years will reach 3,600 MLD. He said there were 97 cities, which were polluting the river with 10 including Haridwar, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, Bhagalpur and Kolkata contributing 65 per cent of the pollution in the river.

Besides, Gadkari has said 48 new cities have been identified on either side of the Ganga and its tributaries for projects to clean the river. The government had in May 2015 approved Rs 20,000 crore under its ambitious ‘Namami Gange’ – integrated Ganga integrated Ganga conservation mission – programme for five years. The minister said massive preparations were also on for commencement of cargo operations in Ganga.

In a bid to actualise the dream of a “nirmal” and “aviral” Ganga, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said Sunday the government is looking to complete about 200 projects for ghats and crematoria by March 2019.

In a bid to actualise the dream of a “nirmal” and “aviral” Ganga, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said Sunday the government is looking to complete about 200 projects for ghats and crematoria by March 2019. Also, the Centre is taking various measures to ensure ecological flow or the minimum quantity of water at different stretches of the Ganga, he said. “A total of 227 projects have been taken up for the Ganga for sewage infrastructure, ghats and crematoria, river-front development, river-surface cleaning and biodiversity conservation, among others, at a cost of Rs 22,374 crore,” Gadkari, who holds Ganga rejuvenation and water resources portfolio among others, told PTI in an interview. He further said that making the Ganga “nirmal” (cleaner) and “aviral” (free-flowing) is his dream and his ministries were taking a slew of steps in this direction. Earlier this month, the government had mandated the minimum ecological flow in the river Ganga and its tributaries required to be maintained at different points in different areas around the year with the aim of ensuring water quality and environmentally sustainable rejuvenation. The directive also requires hydropower projects along the river to modify their operations in order to comply with the notification. “The government plans to complete 151 ghats and 54 crematoria projects by March 2019,” Gadkari, who is also in-charge of road transport and highways ministry, said. Besides monitoring water quality at 138 locations, each at the interval of 20 km, projects have been taken up for 24×7 cleaning of ghats at Varanasi, Bithoor, Kanpur, Allahabad, Mathura, Vrindavan and Haridwar to avoid solid waste disposals in the river, he said. In addition, under the bio-diversity conservation plans, several projects are being implemented for conservation and restoration of indigenous and aquatic species of the Ganga like the Gangetic dolphin, river otters, turtles and aquatic birds, the minister added. The gazette notification on October 10 with regard to the ecological flow of the Ganga water specifies flow requirements at various stretches including from origins in the glaciers to Haridwar besides the main stretch from Haridwar in Uttarakhand to Unnao, Uttar Pradesh. Gadkari said: “With the implementation of these specifications, the river will not be dry as these specifications were a result of scientific study.” He said the directive on ecological flow for the river would result in an unhindered and continuous flow of the river water as it will ensure at least the minimum required the environmental flow of water even after its stream gets diverted by projects. The minister said the notification also provides for direct release of additional water in the river Ganga to meet special demand as and when required. “The concerned central and state authorities shall implement demand-side management plans to reduce water withdrawal from the river Ganga by adopting good and scientific practices such as the efficient method of irrigation, reuse and recycle of water including monitoring and regulation of groundwater withdrawals for various purposes,” the notification mentioned. There are about 1,100 industries and 4,500 villages along the Ganga. The minister last month said that cleaning works would start getting remarkably noticeable in another six months, and had claimed “transforming the river that was the distinct cultural identity of the nation was close to his heart”. Enunciating the work for sewage infrastructure, the minister had said: “Massive initiatives have resulted in rich dividends and we have successfully created the capacity to treat 1,700 MLD sewage.” The cities located by the side of the river produce 2,950 MLD sewage and if steps to purify the water were not taken this in another 15 years will reach 3,600 MLD. He said there were 97 cities, which were polluting the river with 10 including Haridwar, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, Bhagalpur and Kolkata contributing 65 per cent of the pollution in the river. Besides, Gadkari has said 48 new cities have been identified on either side of the Ganga and its tributaries for projects to clean the river. The government had in May 2015 approved Rs 20,000 crore under its ambitious ‘Namami Gange’ – integrated Ganga integrated Ganga conservation mission – programme for five years. The minister said massive preparations were also on for commencement of cargo operations in Ganga.

Govt plans to finish 200 projects for Ganga ghats by March 2019: Nitin Gadkari

Eight more deaths were reported from the flooded region of India&#39;s&nbsp;Bihar, even as the waters from major rivers in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh are&nbsp;receding. 
 
One person died in West Bengal&#39;s Malda and another in Uttarakhand&#39;s&nbsp;Uttarkashi district due to the deluge. 
 
The death toll in Bihas has now touched 37, with 12 from Bhojpur district&nbsp;alone. 
 
The Ganga, Sone, Punpun, Burhi Gandak, Ghaghra, Kosi and other rivers have&nbsp;been overflowing for the last many days, affecting 31.33 lakh people in 1,934&nbsp;villages across 12 districts. 
 
Around 3.44 lakh people have been rescued so far, an official statement said. 
 
A Central Water Commission report said that relatively less amount of rainfall&nbsp;has made the situation slightly better now. 
 
Both the Ganga and Yamuna are seeing receding water levels in several&nbsp;districts now but they are still above the danger mark. 
 
The capital region of Delhi is experiencing light to heavy showers with high&nbsp;humidity. 
 
The flood waters have disrupted vehicular traffic and communication across&nbsp;several regions in the country. Boats were being pressed into service in the&nbsp;submerged areas to ferry the stranded people. 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)

While river water levels in some regions is receding, they are still above the danger mark

Eight more deaths were reported from the flooded region of India's Bihar, even as the waters from major rivers in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh are receding. One person died in West Bengal's Malda and another in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district due to the deluge. The death toll in Bihas has now touched 37, with 12 from Bhojpur district alone. The Ganga, Sone, Punpun, Burhi Gandak, Ghaghra, Kosi and other rivers have been overflowing for the last many days, affecting 31.33 lakh people in 1,934 villages across 12 districts. Around 3.44 lakh people have been rescued so far, an official statement said. A Central Water Commission report said that relatively less amount of rainfall has made the situation slightly better now. Both the Ganga and Yamuna are seeing receding water levels in several districts now but they are still above the danger mark. The capital region of Delhi is experiencing light to heavy showers with high humidity. The flood waters have disrupted vehicular traffic and communication across several regions in the country. Boats were being pressed into service in the submerged areas to ferry the stranded people. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Floods claim 8 more lives in India's Bihar, water receding in some parts

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