Ganga Samagra workers vow to protect river, environment

Varanasi: Workers of Ganga Samagra cleaned Shultankeshwar Ghat and performed puja and aarti of Maa Ganga on Tuesday on the occasion of Ganga Dussehra.Volunteers reached the ghat early morning and carried out a cleanliness drive. Regional organisation secretary Sanjay and Sah Prant Sanyojak Diwakar Dwivedi performed the rituals.Addressing the gathering, Sanjay stressed the need for ensuring cleanliness and uninterrupted flow of the Ganga and its tributaries, saying these were essential for groundwater recharge and ecological balance. He urged workers to spread awareness in villages against immersing worship waste into the river.Dwivedi asked workers to complete formation of Khand teams and Ganga Gram committees in districts before July 15.During the programme, workers also took a pledge to protect the Ganga, its tributaries and the environment. They were asked to identify locations for a tree plantation drive in Kashi district from Guru Purnima to Rakshabandhan, under which Peepal, Bargad, Pakad, Gular and Neem trees will be planted.The programme was presided over by Bhag Sanyojak Chandra Prakash.