New Delhi [India], Aug 8 (ANI): Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju has said that the number of youth who are engaged in cleaning the rivers in India will be increased to one crore from 75 lakhs under National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).

Rijiju and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the Minister of Jal Shakti, interacted with representatives of different districts of the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) through video conferencing in a meeting organised in the main office of the Namami Gange project on Friday.

"Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports will increase participation in the initiatives of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), Ministry of Jal Shakti. Our ministry is committed to partnering with 75 lakh youth volunteers in working towards making all the major rivers of the country clean. Youths of NYKS are engaged in cleaning the rivers in India, whose number will soon be increased to one crore," Rijiju said.

Shekhawat said that he hopes to get the actual information on the ground from these youth so that future policy can be prepared on the basis of a database and for this, it is necessary to have an ongoing and constant dialogue with the youth.

He informed the participants in the conference that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants greater participation of youth in water-related issues and the role of NCC, NSS and NYKS should be increased in the Ganga pollution abatement and rejuvenation campaigns.

"A total of 40 per cent of the country's population depends on the water of the Ganga, so public participation is very important in its cleanliness drives. We should also try to return as much as we get from the Ganga. For this, cleanliness around the river banks and at the ghats should be maintained," he said.

After the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, the ministers of the two central ministries will visit the areas adjoining the banks of the river Ganga from Uttarakhand to West Bengal to get information about cleanliness programs directly.

At the conference, Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General, NMCG informed that 20,000 Ganga Doots (messengers) are active at the grassroots level for cleaning the Ganga, who have been given all necessary training.

Through their activities, public participation in NMCG's pollution abatement and rejuvenation efforts has gained momentum in 2,336 villages in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. (ANI)