Two Ganga yatras culminate at Atal Ghat amidst Vedic chants

KANPUR: The two Ganga yatras, which began from Bijnor and Ballia, culminated at Atal Ghat of Ganga in the city on Friday.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath and his cabinet ministers welcomed the members of two yatras. They first took part in the ‘Aarti’ and later worshipped Ganga amid chanting of Vedic ‘mantras’.
Addressing a gathering, the CM said that residents of Kanpur knew that the city used to be the most critical point of Namami Gange Mission.
“Things have changed now. Earlier, aquatic life in Jajmau was in danger and could not survive but now they are breeding successfully. The Namami Gange Mission has made the river clean and clear. People are now taking a dip in the river”, Yogi said.
He said the two teams during the 1,338 km long five-day yatra have done many constructive works. He has appealed to the inhabitants of the Ganga bank not to use chemical to maintain the cleanliness of the river. He asked them to take a pledge to ensure the river’s cleanliness and its continuous flow.
Speaking on the occasion, deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said that the Prime Minister and the chief minister, who had pledged to make the river clean, have achieved success up to some extent in their mission. Around 24.56 crore devotees had taken a dip in Ganga on the occasion of Kumbh 2019 and more than 48 crores are expected to take a dip in 2025 Kumbh, he said.
Jal shakti minister Mahendra Singh said Ganga was brought on the earth by Bhagirath and now two ‘Bhagiraths’ were trying to make it clean. State BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh said, “All of us should pledge to make Ganga clean and pollution-free.”