Celebration of Ganga Utsav in Bijnor

Date: November 1-3, 2021

TSU-Bijnor along with Bijnor Nagar PalikaParishad (BNPP) celebrated Ganga Utsav, as part of AzadikaAmritotsav under NamamiGange –Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) Partnership. Three activities were planned to bring awareness around water conservation, rainwater harvesting (RWH) and abatementof Ganga Pollution. The activities were planned to attract youth, activists and stakeholders who have a consciousness about The Ganga Pollution. Following three main activities were planned:

Ganga Utsav planning

It was an intensive IEC campaign to promote awareness among various stakeholders in Bijnor municipality on promoting water conservation, rainwater harvesting, protecting the holy Ganga and other water bodies from Malasur&behaviour change communication among the community for sanitation and hygiene practices for making the Ganga clean.

Objectives

To bring consciousness about water conservation in Bijnor so that all future generations in Bijnor are water secured.
To create awareness for action towards clean Ganga among citizens in Bijnor
To create awareness on individual contribution for clean Ganga and rainwater harvesting practices.
To create awareness on the ways to protect Ganga from Malasur and other water sources.

Targeted Audience/stakeholders

Local community, Bijnor
Women & Children
Youth and Bijnor GayatriPariwarmembers
Ward councillors and ULB team
Sanitation workers working in Bijnor

Planned IEC activities for celebrating Ganga Utsav 2021,

Signature Campaign- on 1^st November 2021 at Chairman Campus (11:00 Am to 1:00 PM and Ganga barrage (4pm to 6pm).
Deep Yagya- Lets light Diya for Maa Ganga: 2^nd November, 2021 at Gayatri Temple Ganga Barrage Road, Bijnor (5:00pm).
Poem Competition- for young poets of Bijnor A month-long activity started from 1^st November and results were announced on 1^st December in an Award Ceremony.

Banners Used in the Ganga Utsav

Implementation of Ganga Utsav plan in Bijnor

1. Signature Campaign on 1^stNovember 2021-

An awareness campaign organized by Bijnor Nagar PalikaParishad with TSU-Bijnor to take oath and sign for promoting practices of RWH, water conservation and spreading awareness around avoiding disposal of wastes solid or liquid in the Ganga River. MrShamshad Ansari acting Chairman BNPP and Mr. Manoj Kumar Singh EO BNPP first took the oath and signed the campaign. The campaign was taken to Ganga Barrage in the second half where Mr. Kapil Dev Agarwal, PrabhariMantri Bijnor, SuchiChowdhary, MLA Bijnor, SakenderChowdhary, Jila Panchayat Chairman Bijnor, Umesh Mishra District Magistrate Bijnor, and Vikramaditya Singh Malik, SDM Bijnor along with other 120 important dignitaries signed the campaign. The campaign was observed by 800-1000 persons in Bijnor at a different location. The campaign was appreciated by the ministers and government dignitaries.

Figure 1- EO Speaking few words about Ganga Utsav Signature campaign (Left); Group Picture of Chairman, EO, JE after initiating the campaign (Right) at Chairman Campus

Figure 2- (Starting from top row left)-SDM- Vikramaditya Singh Malik, PrabhariMantri Kapil Dev Agarwal and District Panchayat Chairman SankendraChowdhary Signing the campaign and (second row) View of the Ganga River Behind the Signed Banner of the Signature Campaign.

2. Deep Yagya for The Ganga River 2^nd November, 2021:

To highlight the importance of water conservation, RWH and abatement of Ganga River Pollution, TSU-Bijnor organized Light Diya for River Ganga- Deep Yagyaprogramme withGayatri Temple on Ganga road Bijnor. The programme started with a small Yagyain which all the locals took oath for curbing Ganga Pollution and wastage of water.

Women of around 70 households from the vicinity participated in lighting diyas for the awareness campaign. All the participants took oath to adopt water conservation practices at home and deploy RWH structures wherever possible. Local women also promised to start with saving two buckets of water daily.

3. Painting Competition Bijnor

TSU-Bijnor along with BNPP conducted a poem competition for young poets of Bijnor. Two age groups 11-15 and 16-20 years are kept three prizes viz, 1^st prize INR 1500, 2^nd Prize INR 1000, and 3^rd Prize INR 500, will be given in both categories.
The topics for writing poems are kept based on water conservation, RWH and sources of Ganga Pollution in Bijnor. The idea for this activity was to highlight what a young mind thinks about pollution in the river Ganga, or water conservation, rainwater harvesting expressed through a poem.The results of the completion were announced on 1^st December 2021

The award ceremony of the Poem Competition held in 70 schools in all over Bijnor block was organized by TSU-Bijnor in association with Bijnor Nagar PalikaParsihad. More than hundred poems were received for the completion in two categories viz., 11-15 years and 16-20 years. A bench of three judges decided on the winners of the competition. The merits were based on the individual creativity and precise reflection of the topic in the poems. The award ceremony was held under chair of Executive Officer of Bijnor Nagar PalikaParishadMrManoj Kumar Singh.

Details of the winners of the poem competiton (GnagUtsav)
S.No.	Name of Winner	Age Category	Amount Received (INR) Cash	Position
1	Divyata Rajput	11-15 years	1500	1st
2	AbhinavPratap Singh	11-15 years	1000	2nd
3	Shreya Sharma	11-15 years	500	3rd
4	Vandana Rajput	16-20 years	1500	1st
5	RitikaDabas	16-20 years	1000	2nd
6	AL Zoha Arshad	16-20 years	500	3rd