As a historian tells the story of the Ganga in a new book, we connect the dots to see where mindless destruction of nature can take us

According to official sources, the programme is being organised by the Urban Development Ministry, and will be held in IIT-Kanpur. District magistrate Vijay Vishwas Pant has visited the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) to discuss the modalities of the Prime Minister's visit.

The ambit of the ministry will encompass issues ranging from international and inter-states water disputes, the byzantine Namami Gange project, the flagship initiative to clean the Ganges, its tributaries and sub-tributaries and provide clean drinking water.

Tharoor wrote: "Ganga bhi swachh rakhni hain, aur paap bhi yahi dhone hain. Iss Sangam mein sab nange hain. Jai Ganga Maiya ki!"

According to the report, 34 areas showed moderate pollution in the river while three areas recorded severe pollution in the pre-monsoon period in 2017-18.

The government had in May 2015 approved Rs 20,000 crore under its ambitious 'Namami Gange' - integrated Ganga integrated Ganga conservation mission - programme for five years.

In a letter to Modi, Akhil Bharatiya Agrawal Sammelan (ABAS) National Secretary Summan R. Agrawal said that environmentalist G.D. Agrawal died on October 9 after a 111-day-long protest for the cause of Ganga.

The 86-year old former IIT-Kanpur professor, Agarwal had been on hunger strike since June 22 for a pollution-free and uninterrupted flow in the Ganga.

The draft says the existing environmental laws are not adequate to restore and protect the 2,500-km-long river.

"The purpose of the project is to reduce the inflow of untreated waste water in River Ganga and, thus, to improve the water quality of the river," Dr. Jasper Wieck said.

"It is of utmost necessity to comply with the right to live of persons using Ganga water and they are put to notice about the fitness of water."