The Journey So Far…

Atulya Ganga - Mundmaal Ganga Parikrama 2020-21

23 February 2021


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 Introductio
Atulya Ganga, a unique initiative by the veterans of Indian Armed Forces has taken
up the rst of its kind journey on foot around the river Ganga. This arduous Parikrama
promises to be the longest walkathon in the world, surpassing the famous walkathons in
the USA and China. The prominent features of the Parikrama are are listed below -

• The longest route ~ 6000 kilometres

• To be completed in approximately 8 months

• Covers diverse geographies - Plains, delta, forests, mountains, glacier

• Passes through roughly 45 cities and 5000+ villages

• An annual feature for next 11 years

• The key objective is to make the cause of Clean Ganga a jan-abhiyaan

• A range of associated activities help us extract the most from this epic journey

❖ Ganga Goshthis

❖ Youth involvement programs

❖ Pollution mapping

❖ Vrikshamaal abhiyaan

❖ Data collection - social, economic, environmental, cultural…

Overview of Mundamaal Ganga Parikrama 2020-2

The Parikrama, after being agged o from the historic and holy city of Prayagraj,
Uttar Pradesh, has successfully completed the rst leg of journey. The following sections
brie y summarise the progress, thus far.

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 Pre Inauguratio
In the run up to the inauguration day a range of activities were organised in the city
of Allahabad (Prayagraj). Some of the most important activities included -

A. A press conference at Allahabad Press Club

B. Meetings/interactions with prominent citizens of Allahabad

C. The March of Light - Mashaal Yatra

D. Visit to o er oral tribute at the statue of Shaheed Chandrashekhar Azad

These Activities helped generate awareness about the call for a clean Ganga as well
as the Parikrama.

Pre-inauguration Activitie

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 Inauguratio
The Parikrama was launched `by Smt. Anandi Ben Patel, the Hon’ble Governor of
Uttar Pradesh, on 15th December 2020. The inaugural function was held at the main
auditorium of Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Prayagraj.

The parikrama, the volunteers, the walkers and entire Atulya Ganga team gratefully
received the blessings and best wishes of Hon’ble Jal Shakti Minister Shri Gajendra
Singh Shekhawat as well as the Hon’ble Union Minister, Culture and Tourism, Shri
Prahalad Patel. Sadguru Shri Jaggi Vasudev too blessed the gathering and the Yatra.

In spite of a careful approach adopted due to prevailing pandemic situation, the

program was well attended by the prominent citizens of the city as well as cadets and
o cers of NCC.

Inauguration at MNNIT, Prayagra

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 Parikrama Flag-off
The Parikrama was agged o in the morning hours of 16th December 2020. The
walkers, volunteers, citizens, cadets and o cers of NCC along with a band got together
at banks of sacred Triveni-Sangam at Prayagraj.

After o erings prayers to mother Ganga and seeking her blessings, the walkers
crossed the river to reach Samudra-koop a historic location with immense spiritual and
religious importance. Samudra-koop will act as the starting as well as the nish point for
the yatra.

Flag-off of Mundamal Ganga Parikrama 2020-2

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 Charaiveti Charaivet

Since the day of ag-o , the parikrama has been progressing steadily and right on
schedule. We have been pleasantly surprised by the heartening response, the parikrama
has generated. The curiosity, appreciation and love we have received in every city, village
and bazar we have passed through has far exceeded our expectations.

Such reception has strengthened our resolve further and given us hope that society
is willing to listen and has the courage to dream of a clean Ganga in the foreseeable
future. This also helps us in facing and forgetting, almost in a magical way, all the
su erings, our walkers and volunteers go through on a day-to-day basis.

Not only the the common citizens, but local administration, government agencies
have been welcoming and helping us in whatever way they can.

Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has also organised cultural events as part
of welcome/farewell functions of the Yatra, primarily at Varanasi and Kolkata.

NCC cadets and o cers have also welcomed and joined us regularly, which
multiplies our strength signi cantly, on almost daily basis.

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Associated Activitie

Our associated activities too, have been processing quite e ectively -

• Ganga Goshthis/Ganga Gyan - With each passing day, our Ganga

Goshthi program is getting richer and more engaging. These mutual learnings
will surely help us understand and address the social, economic, cultural and
environmental challenges faced by the region in a more meaningful way.

• Pollution Mapping - We have been collecting and testing the water

quality at every 5 km. We have also been identifying and recording, all sources
of pollution - big and small - along with their geo-location, using our
proprietary application.

• Vrikshamaal Abhaiyan - In order to help restore the river ecology, we

have, in association with our partner, Green India Foundation, been planting
saplings along the parikrama route. We have speci cally chosen endemic
species with maximum environmental impact for the purpose, such as -
Neem, Peepal, Banyan, Arjun, etc. We have also been involving local citizens,
specially students as the guardians of these plants. Additionally, we have
been visiting schools and interacting with students.

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 Milestones - So Far
• First ever Mundamaal Ganga Parikrama achieved its first milestone when it reached
Gangasagar.
◦ 2200 km covered in 66 days which amounts to roughly 30% of the route.
◦ Parikrama passed through the northern/eastern banks of the river
◦ Passed through states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal and has
reached Jharkhand after making a U-turn at Gangasagar, and taking the western/
southern banks
◦ We symbolically offered Ganga Jal from Gangotri to Gangasagar as a Mark of
Aviral Ganga. 
◦ As of today this walk is right on schedule as planned
• 6 Permanent Walkers, 150+ Relay Walkers, 20,000+ Day Walkers - 50-100 NCC Cadets or
youth join us every walking day
• Interaction with 40+ diverse communities living next to Ganga - as Ganga Goshthees,
spreading awareness about clean rivers and understanding local challenges such as
deforestation, silt challenges, fisheries issues, in addition to some innovative solutions
being praciced.
• Witnessed the River and its tributaries on both banks of Ganga in- 4 States, 35+ Towns /
Cities, 1200+ Villages, thousands of residents of Ganga Belt.
• Spoke to 10,000+ residents and youth about clean rivers and how Ganga affects our lives
- and need for Jan Bhaagidari
• 50+ Articles in various local and national news papers -and 20+ electronic media
interviews reaching lakhs of audience about this great initiative

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दीयं व माँ गंगा, तु मेव सम या

To be Continued

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त्व
स्तु
…

भ्य
र्प
मि