Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said the Ganga, which is a symbol of ‘Sanatan Sanskriti’, is everyone’s mother and insult to it is equal to rashtra droh (treason).
He claimed that the pollution level in the Ganga was the highest after the Ganga Action Plan was launched in the 1980s due to non-cooperation of States through which the river passes.
Addressing a gathering of heads of villages on the banks of river Ganga in Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Adityanath said the Narendra Modi government at the Centre was making efforts to clean and rejuvenate the river through its Namami Gange programme.
Universal mother
“The holy river belongs to everyone and is a symbol of ’Sanatan Sanskriti’. It is everyone’s mother and people need to save it. Any insult to the river can never be tolerated and it is equal to rashtra droh ,” he said.
If the the Yamuna and the Ganga dries up, Uttar Pradesh will turn into desert, Mr. Adityanath said and appealed to people not to throw coins, clothes, flowers and other items into the rivers to save them from getting polluted further.
