Accusing the Centre of neglecting the Ganga, activists here on Monday threatened to hit the streets if the Government does not come up with a concrete programme by May 20, to save the “dying river”.
“So many protests have taken place over the issue before but little has come of it. Ministers made promises but few were kept. To protest this, we have decided to launch a mass campaign from Varanasi from May 21 if the Government does not come up with a concrete programme by May 20,” Magsaysay award-winner ‘Waterman', Mr Rajendra Singh said.
Addressing a press conference here, announcing the proposed ‘Ganga Ganga Mukti Sangram' along with Acharya Pramod Krisha, Mr Singh accused the Centre of raising the issue just to garner votes ahead of the elections.
“Lakhs of people depend on Ganga for sustenance. It is sad that the Government is doing little to save its life,” he said.
Mr Singh had recently stepped down from the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) along with two others in protest against the Government's “negligence” of the river.
NGRBA, constituted on February 20, 2009, aims at ensuring effective control of pollution and conservation of the river by adopting a river basin approach for comprehensive planning and management.
“The NGRBA was set up to come up with ways and means to save the Ganga but the state of the holy river has only worsened. The Authority has met only twice or thrice since it was first formed...it exists only on record,” Mr Singh said.
The demands of the activists include setting up of a commission to look into the problems plaguing the river and a Ganga river policy.