Prime Minister Narendra Modi Meets and Interacts with Participants of 'Mission Gange'

By Samachar Vishesh News

Chandigarh 08th October:- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, met and interacted with the participants of ‘Mission Gange’, a joint initiative of Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF) and National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) to raise awareness about waste management and Ganga cleanliness through a month-long rafting expedition.

The rafting expedition, involving a team of 40 members, is led by Tata Steel Adventure Foundation Chief Ms. Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to scale Mount Everest. ‘Mission Gange’ team was joined by Tata Steel CEO & MD T V Narendran and Vice President (Corporate Services) Sunil Bhaskaran during the team’s meeting with the Hon’ble Prime Minister in New Delhi today.

The expedition begins on October 5, 2018 from Haridwar, traversing around 1500 kms. The journey, encompassing eight major towns including Bijnor, Farrukhabad, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi and Buxar, will conclude in Patna on October 30, 2018. 

T V Narendran, CEO & MD, Tata Steel, said that the Ganges has been and will always be much more than a river for India. With a large chunk of the country’s population living in the Ganges basin, the need to keep it clean cannot be overstated. We thank Prime Minister Modi for taking a personal interest in this Mission. He further added that Tata Steel is committed towards creating a cleaner and a better tomorrow.  We wish the mission a great success.

TSAF Chief and ‘Mission Gange’ expedition leader Ms Bachendri Pal said that our expedition is inspired by Government of India’s Namami Gange mission. It is an important step towards cleaning the Ganges, a life-supporting river for millions in our country. The aim of the expedition is to reach out to as many people as possible, increase the awareness on keeping this great river clean and transform this mission into a people’s movement.

Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga, said that during the month-long expedition, the team will stop at all major locations and carry out cleaning drives in coordination with NMCG stakeholders like Ganga Vichar Manch, Ganga Praharis, District Ganga Committees, local voluntary organizations and people from all walks of life. Awareness campaigns will be conducted in schools to sensitize students towards Ganga cleaning. Events such as Ganga Chaupal will be conducted along the Ganga to create conversations between stakeholders.

TSAF has brought together a diverse and industrious team of 40 individuals (20 women and 20 men) including eight mountaineers, who have summited Mt. Everest, and 26 Tata Steel employees. Besides, professionals from backgrounds as diverse as engineering, environmentalists, science etc. are part of the expedition team that is prepared to meet all the challenges that they may encounter during the expedition. The team, during its stay in various towns along the course, will carry out cleanliness drives at Ghats and surrounding areas, visit schools and institutions to create awareness on waste management, pollution in Ganga and climate change.