The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) is all set to organise three-day `Ganga Utsav 2020’, this time on virtual platforms due to Covid-19. Ganga was declared as the National River of India on 4th November 2008. NMCG set up in 2016, replaced the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NRGBA). Ganga Utsav is a three-day festival which aims to promote stakeholder engagement and ensure public participation.
Ganga Utsav celebrates mystical and cultural river Ganga through storytelling, folklores, dialogues with eminent personalities, quizzes, displaying traditional art forms, dance and music performance by renowned artists, photo galleries and exhibitions and much more.
There are various programs that are scheduled for the event. One is Ganga Task Force (GTF) which is an aforestation drive with National Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets and educational tour for youth. GTF is a unit of battalion of ex-servicemen deployed in the services of the Ganga with the approval of the Ministry of Defence for the period of four years till December 2020. It was approved by the Cabinet under the Public Participation component of the Namami Gange Programme and the first battalion was raised in March 2016.
Mini Ganga Quest is designed to make youth and students aware of environmental issues and explain their role in conservation. Ganga Quest is a Pan India bilingual quiz to increase public participation in Namami Gange Programme and encourage the youth.
In 2014, Namami Gange Programme was launched to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution and conservation, and rejuvenation of Ganga.
