In its bid to create awareness about the holy River Ganges, the state government started Ganga Yatra which on its second day arrived in Makhdoompur of Hastinapur on Tuesday. Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma joined the Yatra along with other ministers of the state.
Deputy Minister Dinesh Sharma, accompanied by cabinet ministers in UP government Suresh Rana, Shrikant Sharma Minister of Power, MP Rajendra Agarwal, and many other leaders of the party reached Makhdoompur Ghat of Hastinapur on Tuesday to join Ganga Yatra and performed Arti there. He then left for Garhmukteshwar, the next destination of the Ganga Yatra.
The ‘Ganga Yatra’ was flagged off from Bijnor by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on January 27 and from Baliya by Governor of Uttar Pradesh Anandiben Patel. The purpose of the Yatra is to create awareness about the holy river amongst the masses. The two routes of Yatra would meet on May 31 in Kanpur. The Yatra that commenced from Bijnor was continued in Hastinapur by deputy CM Dinesh Sharma.
Later, while interacting with the media persons, the deputy CM told that this Yatra would cover around 27 districts. It is a collective effort that aims at making people aware of the importance of the holy river. “With the help of this Yatra, the government would promote and renovate the spiritual and religious heritage of the country,” he said adding that they want to ensure that the river is pollution-free and clean.
The government is working to put an effective check on the flow of sewer drainage into the river, said Sharma, adding that 89 sewer drainages have been tracked and 25 more drainages would soon stop flowing into the river. Another initiative is to prevent the throwing of polythene waste in the river, the minister said.
Apart from the distribution of pension at the Ghats during the Yatra, the promotion of organic farming, eco-tourism, and betterment of Ganga is the prime focus of the yatra.