Narendra Modi chairs first National Ganga Council meeting, reviews Namami Gange project in Kanpur

Kanpur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday chaired the first meeting of the National Ganga Council and reviewed the ambitious Namami Gange project. The prime minister was received by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and other dignitaries at the Chakeri airport. [caption id=“attachment_7591551” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PTI[/caption] Modi chaired the meeting of the council at Chandra Shekhar Azad Agriculture University. He reviewed the works completed under the project so far and exchanged notes on cleaning the Ganga with dignitaries, officials said. The meeting chaired by Modi was attended by Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand chief ministers Yogi Adityanath and Trivendra Singh Rawat, respectively. Union ministers Prakash Javadekar, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Dr Harshvardhan, RK Singh, Prahlad Patel, Mansukh Mandavia and Hardeep Singh Puri attended the meeting along with several officers from the Centre and the states. Modi also visited a Namami Gange Mission exhibition, showcasing the works done for the cleanliness of the river. Later, accompanied by the chief ministers and other dignitaries, Modi visited Atal Ghat near the Ganga barrage to assess works done under the project. On a cruise for half-an-hour, Modi waved at people standing on the river bank. The Prime Minister’s Office had earlier tweeted that Modi will chair the first meeting of the National Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga Council in Kanpur. The Kanpur stretch of the river is regarded as the most polluted. After the launch of the Namami Gange project to clean and rejuvenate the river, 13 out of 16 major drains in Kanpur have been completely tapped and the sewage and industrial effluent have been diverted to treatment plants.