Report by Shuchi Giridhar
Ganga was declared India’s national river on November 4th, 2008. “Ganga Utsav” was initiated by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) to mark the anniversary of this announcement and to connect various communities and people to rejuvenate the river. It also aims to solve sensitive ecological issues through conversations centered around the river.
This year saw the celebration of a 3-day Ganga Utsav from 1st to 3rd November. This was the fifth edition of the Utsav and was celebrated as a river festival across the Ganga Basin involving 150+ districts across the country. Efforts were invested in cleaning many other rivers across the country this year in addition to river Ganga.
The Union Minister for the Jal Shakti mission, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, officiated the inaugural ceremony with a speech. The event also saw the launch of the Continuous Learning and Activity Portal (CLAP). This portal will function as a platform for open conversation around mitigating pollution, especially related to water bodies, in India.
Many books written about the Ganga were also launched and given out during the event. The Utsav was celebrated through folklore, storytelling, dialogues with eminent personalities, displays of traditional art forms, quizzes, music and dance performances by renowned artists, exhibitions, and photo galleries.
Numerous people had posted their self-created literary pieces on the event’s Facebook page, so much so that the National Mission of Clean Ganga (NMCG) was registered in the Guinness Book of World Records on the first day of the Ganga Utsav 2021 for the highest number of photos of handwritten notes that were uploaded on Facebook in an hour!
Here are some glimpses of the events held under Ganga Utsav 2021