Green India

F o u n d a t i o n

Ganga Vrikshamaal Abhiyan

गंगा वृक्षमाल अिभयान

Tree Plantation Drive along the
entire route of River Ganga
The Backdrop
Ganga – a River, a Lifeline!
Ganga basin is home to more than half a billion people
Yes, every 12th human lives here!

Livelihood of a major chunk of this population is directly

dependent on Ganga, the mother!

Ganga gave birth to, and nurtured for millennia, a truly vibrant
civilization and a rich culture

Life giving Ganga is also the mother and home to a rich variety of
- and, in some cases, endangered - species

Ganga waters are blessed with seemingly magical properties -

• Bacteriophages, unusually high dissolved oxygen saturation, etc.
…and, a Distress Call!
The revered mother is reeling under extreme stress!

As we turn her into this …And this …From this!

Stress Factors

Careless exploitation of Our Needs and, more Irresponsible & Unmindful

the entire River System importantly, our Greed Social/Civil Practices
We have Answered!

The Government of India has responded to the

situation with a sense of urgency
• Formulating a Multi-pronged Strategy
• Ensuring Resource Availability
• Making Ganga Rejuvenation a key objective

However, any real and lasting impact of all these efforts can be
achieved only by -
• Making Ganga Rejuvenation a personal cause for entire population
• Ensuring a direct and meaningful citizen participation
• Tackling the challenge in an integrated manner, involving all stakeholders
Atulya Ganga – Mundmaal Parikrama

• Atulya Ganga is an ambitious initiative by veterans of

Indian Armed Forces
• With Mundmaal Parikrama - an ancient tradition -
we undertake the enormous task of
• Reaching out to the masses in the Ganga basin
• Spreading awareness about the current state of
affairs and challenges that lie ahead
• Inspiring the common man, especially the youth to associate with the cause of
Ganga Rejuvenation
• Extensive Data collection and detailed study of for a clearer picture of current
state of affairs
• Social, Cultural, Environmental, Economic, etc.
Atulya Ganga Founders
Veterans & Renowned Adventurers
 Goumukh
Days
~ May 15 Parikrama Overview
220+

KM
~5100

Cities
45+ Prayagraj
Commences Dec 15
Concludes Aug 15

Villages Gangasagar
4500+ ~ Jan 31
Mundmaal Parikrama – Key Features
Revival of an ancient Tradition: Ganga Parikrama

Positive, United, Non Aligned, Apolitical Mass Movement

11 Year Project - 2020 to 2030 ( two 5 year plans)

A range of associated activities aimed at mass awareness and engagement

Relevant Social/Environmental Data Collection

Mundmaal Parikrama – Key Associated Activities
Sample
Collection
- River water
- Ground Water
Ganga Cultural - Soil
Goshthis/ Events (Folk
Choupals Culture)

Public
Meetings
Direct Plantation
Interactions along the
with Route
Communitie -Banyan,
s Peepal, etc.
Mundmaal Parikrama – Outreach
Target Groups

Urban Local Bodies

Panchayats
Villages
Schools/Colleges
Youth/Students
Fishermen/Boatmen
Riverside Settlements
Researchers
Religious/Political/Social Leaders
Local Businesses/Industires
Artisans
Ganga Water Pollution – a Snapshot

Bahrampore
Allahabad
Haridwar

Ghazipur
Gangotri

Howrah
Bithoor
Narora

Patna
BOD/FC
Rishikesh

Garh-
mukteshwar

Kannauj

Kanpur

Varanasi

Buxar

Bhagalpur

Dakshineshwar

Diamond
Harbour
Source: Report on Water Quality of the Rivers, 2017; CPCB

In spite of her self-healing skills, Ganga stays in the red, beyond Narora
as most of Ganga water is diverted to Upper/Middle/Lower Canals and not
much is left in the downstream while we discharge increasing amounts of
industrial/municipal/other waste into Ganga
We need –
• Identification, geo-tagging, analysis of every single source of pollution
• Identification of social/religious practices contributing to pollution levels
Groundwater in Ganga-basin
Ganga basin region is known to have much higher incidence of GI/
GB cancer1,2
• By a factor of 10; compared to national/global occurrence rates
Proximity to Ganga, high heavy metal in soil exposure are
considered as risk factors for one of the deadliest cancers

Heavy Metals
Cd, Cr, Pb, Ni, Hg

Arsenic
Groundwater 1. R Madhawi et al , Geographical pattern of carcinoma
gallbladder in Bihar and its association with river
Contaminants Ganges and arsenic levels: Retrospective individual
Pesticides consecutive patient data from Regional Cancer Centre,
South Asian J Cancer. 2018 Jul-Sep; 7(3): 167–170. doi:
10.4103/sajc.sajc_37_18 PMCID: PMC6069329
2. Groundwater Arsenic Contamination in the Ganga
Other Toxic Waste River Basin: A Future Health Danger, Int J Environ Res
Public Health. 2018 Feb; 15(2): 180. PMCID:
PMC5858255
Desertification in Ganga-basin
About 41% of the land in India is under different forms of land
degradation in which a major part lies in the Ganga River Basin

Active land degradation in the form of green-cover loss, fragmented

forests, and declined primary productivity is observed

Ganga basin area has only 16.6% forest cover, while the national average
in India is 21.2%. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are even more severely affected

Land Degradation
Causes

Water & Wind Mining/Industrial

Water logging Alkali Soil Acid Soil Saline Soil
erosion Waste

1. Matin, S., Behera, M.D. Studying evidence of land degradation in the Indian Ganga River Basin—a Geoinformatics approach. Environ Monit Assess 191, 803 (2019). https://doi.org/
10.1007/s10661-019-7694-7
2. Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India, Space Applications Centre, ISRO, 2016
Therefore, the Associated Initiatives…
In association with our partner organizations, Atulya Ganga has planned the
following programs during the course of Mundmaal Parikrama
Sampling/Testing
Ganga water Banyan

Plantation
Groundwater Peepal

Soil Neem

• Samples to be collected every 5 km • Seed-balls to be scattered along the route

• All samples to be geo-tagged and • Banyan, Peepal, neem and other endemic
data to be regularly updated on trees to be planted every 5 (or fewer) km
Ganga Health Dashboard
Ganga Health Dashboard
After sample collection and testing is completed, an ecology heath
data dashboard shall be provided for all stakeholders
• Readily accessible
• Annually updated data on health of River Water, Ground Water and Soil
• Covering the mot relevant parameters
• All data points will have Geo-tagging

Relevant
Stakeholders

Schools/
Local
Government State District Gram Colleges

Political/Social CPCB SPCB   Local Bodies
of India Governments Authorities, Panchayats General
Leaders  
Public
Our Patrons & Partners

Ministry of Tourism

Green India
F o u n d a t i o n
Our Humble Prayer

• We humbly request your kind support through our

ambitious and arduous journey along the Ganga banks
• You may please consider helping us with –
• Joining the Parikrama - walk with us for a few days
• Awareness Campaign Assistance
• Sample Collection Assistance
• Sample Testing Assistance
• Assistance with Plantation
• Organise Public Meetings/Ganga Goshtis/other events
• Financial Support
• In any other way, you may support us
Forest Cover - India

Very Dense Forest

Moderately Dense Forest
Open Forest
Total Forest Cover
Scrub
Forest Cover of UP

VDF MDF OF Scrub

NF
Forest Cover of UP

VDF MDF OF Scrub NF

 3.02

9.39
9.26

21.67
76.92

1.41

Very Dense Forest Moderately Dense Forest

Open Forest Total Forest Cover
Scrub Non-Forest
Endemic Species in Ganga Basin
Himalayan Region Gangetic Plains Deltaic Plains

Pinus wallichiana Dalbergia sissoo, Heritiera spp,

Cedrus deodara, Shorea robusta, Ceriops spp,

Betula utilis, Terminalia arjuna, Sonneratia spp,

Quercus dilatata, Acacia catechu, Avicennia spp ,

Shorea robusta Terminalia alata, Excoecaria spp

Tectona grandis
So that, Ganga continues - as our Divine Savior!

I come to you as a child to his mother.

I come as an orphan to you, moist with love.
I come without refuge to you, giver of sacred rest.
I come a fallen man to you, up-lifter of all.
I come undone by disease to you, the perfect physician.
I come, my heart dry with thirst, to you, ocean of sweet wine.
Do with me whatever you will.
-from Ganga Lahari