Narendra Modi to announce clean-up projects for Ganga: A look at the need to save river from further destruction

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to announce a number of projects to clean River Ganga in his Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency on Monday, in addition to inaugurating a number of infrastructure projects . An official of the National Mission for Clean Ganga said eight projects  had been sanctioned for Varanasi under the Namami Gange programme for Rs 913.07 crore. During his visit, Modi will also dedicate to the nation an inland waterways terminal on the Ganga river in Varanasi, which is the first of the four multi-modal terminals being constructed on NW-I (River Ganga) as part of the World Bank-aided “Jal Marg Vikas” project of the Inland Waterways Authority of India, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement. The Jal Marg Vikas project will enable commercial navigation of vessels with a capacity of 1500-2,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage) on the Ganga. The other three terminals are under construction at Sahibganj, Haldia and Gazipur. In light of Modi likely to announce projects on cleaning up the river, here’s Firstpost’s coverage of the Ganga and the urgent need to save the river from further destruction .