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Sparsh Ganga campaign launched in Uttarakhand Worship Ganga: Protect Ganga—His Holiness Dalai Lama All the major rivers on this earth need special care, because of change in ecology of this planet. These are the life lines of the various communities living on the banks of the rivers. Billions of the people’s lives depend on the major rivers of the earth. It is our moral duty to conserve the water for the sake of human being. Conserving the Ganga is important for mental peace, besides environmental concerns,” said Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness Dalai Lama. He was launching the Sparsh Ganga campaign at Parmarth Ashram in Rishikesh on April 4. The campaign has jointly been launched by Tourism Department of Uttarakhand and the Parmarth Ashram. Yogaguru Baba Ramdev, former Deputy Prime Minister Shri LK Advani, former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Shri BC Khanduri, Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ and many other distinguished leaders were also present on the occasion. HH Dalai Lama further said the ecological care of this planet could maintain the environment. “Most of the part of the world is facing water scarcity and people are not getting a single drop in such part, for saving this planet for the natural disasters. We have to think seriously about the conservation of ecology of this planet. We have to think about our future generation, who will face the ecological imbalance on this earth,” he said. Shri LK Advani said this programme should become a remarkable event. “State government should think about the continuity of this type of programmes. Besides the government, social activists, NGOs, communities, scientists too should come forward to conserve the sanctity of the River Ganga,” he stressed. Swami Agnivesh underlined that all the governments are adopting westerner’s style of development that is not good for the development of India. All the parameters of paradigm of development are totally wrong. If we want to conserve the Ganga we have change our life style. American life style of living is totally responsible for the glacier melting. “If we want to conserve Ganga, it is only possible with the quitting of the western life style in our lives. There is strong need of the new developing manifesto to save and conserve the earth” he added. Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ informed the gathering that noted bollywood actress Hema Malini and film actor Shri Vivek Oberoi have been roped in as brand ambassadors of the Sparsh Ganga Campaign for its successful execution. He also said Haridwar is an important religious destination and therefore the plastic ban there should be implemented strictly. He urged the devotees to take a strict vow to preserve the waters of River Ganga, for which they should not throw plastic, chemicals or waste in the river and would plant trees along its banks. He also said there would be human chain of 111,000 lakh volunteers for the cleanliness of the River Bhagirathi. “State government is also planning to establish an Eketa Van at Badrinath, and we are inviting various states to set up their forest in that area to conserve the environment of the nation,” he added. Head of Parmarth Niketan Swami Chidanand Muni proposed the vote of thanks. The occasion also witnessed the release of a book Sparsh Ganga by Dr Nishank. (By Ravindra Saini)

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