Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti has said that whole country is committed for continuous and uninterrupted flow of Ganga from Gangotri to Ganga Sagar. Speaking at Ganga Manthan, the National dialogue on Ganga here today, she said we will work with full sincerely on the outcome of this dialogue. She said, “We have had series of discussions with various stakeholders on the issue and will soon arrive on some positive outcome”. The Minister said that she has noticed that people from every section of the society, irrespective of their faith are committed to this cause. The Minister said there won’t be any shortage of funds for Ganga Rejuvenation Progamme. Speaking on the occasion Union Tourism and Culture Minister Shripada Yasso Naik gave an over view of the plans for development of river Ganga as major tourism destination. He said tourism spots will be developed all along the banks of Ganga from Gangotri to Ganga Sagar. Naik said his Ministry is exploring the possibilities of introducing Shikaras on Ganga on the pattern of Kashmir.
Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari in his addressed said that it is proposed to conduct dredging to provide a width of 45 meters and five meters draft (depth) to enable navigation of small ships between Varanasi and Hoogly on river Ganga in the first stage of its development. He said barrages are proposed to be constructed at every 100 Kms on the river. Shri Gadkari said his Ministry has sent a proposal in this regard to World Bank for the development of Allahabad- Haldia corridor. The day long dialogue has been organized by National Mission for Clean Ganga which is being attended by large number of delegates from different parts of the country and abroad. The dialogue will have four different sessions on “Ganga & Sanskriti” (for Spiritual Leaders), “Public Participation for Ganga” (for Public Representatives & Administrators), “Aviral & Nirmal Ganga” (for NGOs & Environmentalists) and “Comprehensive & Sustainable Solutions” (for Academicians & Technocrats).