A human chain on banks of Ganga marks World Water Day

Varanasi, Mar 23 (ANI): Residents formed a human chain on the banks of the Ganges river here to mark World Water Day on Sunday.

They vowed to cleanse the river of all pollutants and restore its mythological glory.Ganga is severely polluted and there is a need for joint effort. People wash clothes in the river, if things will not change then this major water source will die one day," said Jugal Kishore, an activist.

Observed on March 22 every year, World Water Day is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro.

Last year, the Government declared Ganga as a "National River."

The Ganga Action Plan (GAP) was conceived by the late Prime Minster Indira Gandhi, who requested a comprehensive survey of the situation in 1979.

Even though millions have been spent to preserve the sacred river Ganges, the pollution level in the river has reached an alarming level.

The banks of the river present an ironical picture where on one side religious activities like prayers, recital of hymns and fire-rituals take place and on the other side, heaps of garbage lies unattended to. (ANI)