Ganga Utsav 2022

• The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the Ministry of Jal Shakti recently organised Ganga Utsav—The River Festivals 2022.

What is the 2022 Ganga Utsav?

•  To improve the Public - River Connection, the NMCG celebrates the event each year.
• The National Ganga Council (NMCG) was established in 2016 to take the role of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NRGBA).
• On the first day of Ganga Utsav 2021, the NMCG was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for posting.
• With a focus on promoting stakeholder engagement and public participation towards the rejuvenation of the river Ganga, it emphasises the importance of Jan Bhagidari (People's Participation) in the resuscitation of Ganga.

2022's Ganga Utsav

• The intention is to hold comparable ceremonies in more than 75 locations throughout states to commemorate India's rivers as part of the major celebration of the country's 75th anniversary of independence (Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav).
• The festival will feature a variety of genres, including poetry, discussion, storytelling, music, art, and culture.
• Districts will host a number of awareness-raising events to engage the populace and spread the word about Namami Gange as a widespread movement.

What are the government's Ganga River initiatives?

It was the first river action plan to capture, divert, and treat home sewage, which helped to enhance the water quality.

• The Ganga Action Plan phase-2's goal of cleaning up the Ganga River is furthered by the National River Conservation Plan.
• Authority for the National River Ganga: Under Section 3 of the Environment Protection Act of 1986, it was established in 2009.
• In order to clean up the Ganga, establish waste treatment facilities, and preserve the biological diversity of the river, the Clean Ganga Fund was established in 2014.
• Web app for Bhuvan-Ganga: It ensures that the whole population is involved in the surveillance of pollution entering the Ganges River.
• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) prohibited the disposal of any rubbish in the Ganga in 2017.

What are the River Ganga's Main Attractions?

• Hindus consider this river to be the most sacred river in the world. It is the longest river in India and flows over 2,510 km of mountains, valleys, and plains.
• Over a surface area of 10,86,000 square kilometers, the Ganga basin extends into Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet (China), and India.
• It includes eight Indian states—Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, and the Union Territory of Delhi—and drains an area of 8,61,452 square kilometres, or about 26% of the nation's total land area.
• It comes from the Gangotri Glacier's snowfields in the Himalayas.
• The river is known as the Bhagirathi at its source. It leaves the valley and travels to Devprayag, where it merges with the Ganga, another mountain stream.
• The Yamuna and the Son are the two main tributaries that join the river from the right.
• From left, the Ramganga, Ghaghra, Gandak, Kosi, and Mahananda join the river. The Betwa and the Chambal are the two additional significant tributaries.
• The Ganga River basin, which spans an area of one million square kilometers, is among the world's most fertile and heavily populated regions.
• An endangered species that only lives in this river is the Ganges River Dolphin.
• In Bangladesh, the Ganga joins the Brahmaputra and continues its course as the Padma or Ganga.
• Before emptying into the Bay of Bengal to conclude its trip, the Ganga widens into the Ganges Delta in Bangladesh's Sundarbans marsh.