Modi appeals for contribution towards cleaning Ganga

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday urged people living along the banks of the Ganga to actively participate in efforts to clean and protect the river, describing it as an integral part of India's culture, heritage and identity.

Interacting with people from Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh through the NaMo App during the launch of the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ movement, Modi appreciated their efforts towards keeping the Ganga clean.

"I want to thank the people of Bijnore for working towards cleaning the Ganga," he said.

Modi said making areas along the river's banks open-defecation free would be an important step towards protecting the river's cleanliness and purity.

He stressed that reverence for the Ganga should not remain limited to religious or cultural expressions, but should also translate into concrete action to protect the river.

"Devotion towards the Ganga and Gangotri should not only be shown but steps should be taken," Modi said, adding that people also needed to change attitudes and practices that contribute to the pollution of the river.

Appealing to communities living near the Ganga, the Prime Minister asked them to join the cleanliness campaign and take greater responsibility for protecting the river.

He expressed confidence that people in other areas would also follow the example of Bijnor and participate in efforts to clean the Ganga.

Modi said the government was taking several measures to improve the condition of the river and expressed confidence that the results of these efforts would soon become visible.

The Prime Minister also interacted with railway personnel in Haryana's Rewari and praised their contribution to improving cleanliness across railway stations and trains.

Referring to the message displayed inside train coaches that "Indian Railways is public property", Modi said the intention was to encourage passengers to treat railway facilities as their own property and help keep them clean.

He credited railway employees for the improvement in cleanliness across coaches and stations, saying their sustained efforts had played an important role in bringing about the visible change.

The Prime Minister's remarks highlighted the broader objective of the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ campaign — encouraging citizens to see cleanliness not merely as a government responsibility but as a shared social duty. The emphasis on the Ganga also underlined the need to combine sanitation, responsible public behaviour and community participation to protect one of India's most important rivers.