GANGA UTSAV 2021

• Recently, the 5th edition of Ganga Utsav-The River Festival 2021 has begun which celebrates the glory of the National river Ganga.
• Ganga was declared as the National River of India on 4th November 2008.
• The event will also comprise, launch of the Ganga Tarang Portal, curtain raiser on Ganga Knowledge Portal and many more.

Important points:

• The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) celebrates the festival every year to strengthen the Public – River Connection.
• NMCG is the implementation wing of National Ganga Council, set up in 2016, which replaced the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NRGBA).
• The NMCG has been registered in the Guinness Book of World Records on the first day of Ganga Utsav 2021 for the highest number of photos of handwritten notes that were uploaded on Facebook in an hour.
• The Utsav celebrates the mystical and cultural river Ganga through storytelling, folklore, dialogues with eminent personalities, quizzes, displaying traditional artforms, dance and music performances by renowned artists, photo galleries and exhibitions and much more.
• It highlights the significance of Jan Bhagidari (People’s Participation) in the revival of Ganga, with a focus on encouraging stakeholder engagement and public participation towards the rejuvenation of river Ganga.

River Ganga

• It is the longest river of India flowing over 2,510 km of mountains, valleys and plains and is revered by Hindus as the most sacred river on earth.
• It originates in the snowfields of the Gangotri Glacier in the Himalayas as the Bhagirathi River and is joined by other rivers such as the Alaknanda, Yamuna, Son, Gumti, Kosi and Ghagra.
• The Ganga river basin is one of the most fertile and densely populated areas of the world and covers an area of 1,000,000 sq. km.
• The Ganges River Dolphin is an endangered animal that specifically habitats this river.
• The Ganga widens out into the Ganges Delta in the Sundarbans swamp of Bangladesh, before it ends its journey by emptying into the Bay of Bengal.

SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT