PM Narendra Modi exhorts citizens for Ganga 'seva'

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday solicited the cooperation of all sections of society for "Ganga seva", while reiterating his call to turn rejuvenation of the Ganga river into a mass movement.

"Modi has called for making Ganga rejuvenation a mass movement. He called for specific action plans to unite the strength of various sections of society dedicated to Ganga seva," said a statement from the Prime Minister's Office.

Modi, who chaired the first high-level meeting on "Namaami Gange", an integrated plan for Ganga rejuvenation, said the first priority towards their mission for a clean Ganga should be to stop fresh generation of pollutants.

Teams of volunteers from various parts of the country could be involved in Ganga seva by maintaining specific stretches of the river, Modi suggested at the meeting attended by union ministers M. Venkaiah Naidu, Nitin Gadkari, Uma Bharati, Prakash Javadekar and Nirmala Sitharaman.

Modi referred to his vision for solid waste management and waste water management in 500 urban centres across India, through the PPP model, and said the first priority under this vision would be given to towns on the banks of the Ganga.

He said Ganga rejuvenation could also be envisaged as a major mission to conserve the environment, with the involvement of nearly half the country's population.

"This would invite positive global attention, expertise and commitment," he added.