Ganga Utsav 2021, Chunar

Background

The Ganga Utsav 2021 – The River Festival has not aimed only to celebrate the glory of the river Ganga but giving dignity to all the rivers of the country. Taking inspiration from Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s call for ‘NadiUtsav’ for celebrating rivers,and NamamiGange, CSE team with support from Chunar Nagarpallika celebrated the three days’ utsav from 1^st-3^rd Nov 2021 with the aim is to encourage community to realize the important of river Ganga and all the river basins in India for the mankind.

Theme of the IEC activities conducted under Ganga Utsav 2021 in Chunar

It was an intensive IEC campaign to promote awareness among various stakeholders in Chunar municipality on promoting rain water harvesting, protecting the holy Ganga and other water bodies from Malasur& behavior change communication among community for sanitation and hygiene practices for making the Ganga clean. The Utsav was based on the below themes

Let’s do Yoga for clean Ganga
Let’s walk for clean Ganga
let’s light a lamp for clean Ganga
let’s promise for own contribution towards clean Ganga

Objectives

• To create awareness for action towards clean Ganga among citizens in Chunar
• To create awareness on individual contribution for clean Ganga and rain water harvesting practices.
• To create awareness on the ways to protect Ganga from Malasur and other water sources. 

Targeted Audience/stakeholders

• Local community, Chunar
• Women & Children
• Youth and Chunar club members
• Ramleela Committee members
• Ward councilors and ULB team
• Sanitation workers working in Chunar    

IEC activities conducted for celebrating Ganga Utsav 2021, Chunar

• Yoga camp for Clean Ganga with BramhaKumariPrajapitaiswariyabiswavidyalaya Team and local yoga guru and different Stakeholders

• (6AM, 1st November 2021) 

As per the planning the Yoga camp was organized on 1^st November at Killa parade ground, Chunar with support from members of prajapitabramhakumariiswariyamahavidalaya, Chunar and a total of 60 participants practiced yoga for clean Ganga. All of the participants also promised to provide individual contribution for clean Ganga.

Photographs of the event

Figure 1 Yoga for Clean Ganga in Gang Utsav Chunar

• Ganga Padayatra (8AM-10AM, 2nd November 2021) 

Let’s walk to create awareness for clean Ganga, a rally by various stakeholders fromGangaghat, santosimatamandir to the Balughat, covering the half of the length of Ganga in Chunar.

Ganga padayatra was organized on 2^nd November in which 150 stakeholders from various fields participated and walked for clean Ganga from SantoshimataMandirghat to Balughat Chunar in a rally urging common people for making Ganga clean for the betterment of the future generation and glorifying Chunar.Mr.RajpatiBais, EO, CNPP, Sanjay Ku Singh, DPM, Mirzapur led the ganga padyatra along with CSE TSU team and other stakeholders.

Photographs of the event

Figure 2 Ganga Padayatra, Chunar

• Signature campaign with oath taking at the bank of Ganga among citizens for individual contributions towards clean ganga(2nd November 2021) 

A Signature campaign was also organized at the bank of Ganga in Balughat, chunar with the promise to share individual responsibility towards clean Ganga through avoiding release of waste materials to Ganga directly from HHs, protecting Ganga from Malasur, reducing water wastage and rainwater harvesting to increase the river health. A total of 170 people participated in the signature campaign followed by oath taking for individual contribution towards clean Ganga.

Photographs of the event

 

Figure 3 Signature campaign for clean Ganga in Chunar

Social media dissemination of Ganga Utsav plan
The CSE TSU Chunar team took the various social media platform in the city like the following to disseminate the event plan in order to encourage the common people to participate and also disseminated the Diwalli message through social media and displayed a banner at CNPP office campus, Chunar mentioning “Let’s light a diya for clean Ganga”. Following social media has been used

• Chunar Youth club Facebook group,(35000 members)
• CSTF members WhatsApp group (24 members)
• Other WhatsApp groups (tentative 45 members)

Tentative outreach of IEC message
The program was disseminated through various social media before the event and also after the execution of the event and also the event was covered by the print media like the Hindustan and Dainik-Jagaran covering near about 35000 thousands of citizens of Chunar and district as well. The Ganga Utsav will definitely bring changes in the mindset of the common people and for the immediate result, EO, Chunar asked for making free access to the public for the use of the community toilets in the banks of Ganga in Chunar and this will definitely bring spark of change in the mindset of the stakeholders towards clean Ganga in Chunar.