Ganga Parikrama by ex-service men reaches Kolkata – Times of India

KOLKATA: The Mundama Ganga Parikrama, an initiative by ex-service men reached Kolkata on Sunday before their trip further south to Gangasagar.
The walkathon, which aims to be the longest one on the earth, will cover 6000+ kilometers. The entire MGP entourage was given a warm welcome at Indiatourism, Kolkata office.
MGP is revival of an ancient Indian tradition in which you walk on foot clockwise, circumnavigating the length of Ganga covering both its banks. The walk starts and ends at the same point and one is permitted to cross the Ganga only at the start of the walk and at the end – Gangasagar where it meets the ocean. 6000 km, 8 months long MGP is the most challenging adventure and physical activity and hence needs the most meticulous physical and mental preparation, said Colonel (retired) Monoj Keshwar, one of the founding members of the Atulya Ganga project. MGM is only part of the project.
With an integrated mission and slogan of “Sabka Saath Ho, Ganga Saaf Ho”, the MGP team embarked on an arduous 8-month long and 6,000km walkathon to spread awareness about clean rivers and the need to let them flow naturally. “Rural India does not pollute rivers. They preserve it with their ancient wisdom and end up becoming the pollution of rivers. The urban India and industrial India pollute rivers by draining untreated sewage and effluents into the river. So we aim to make people aware of the disaster we are heading to by killing rivers. Already a large number of rivers have become extinct,” said Colonel Keshwar.
The Atulya Ganga Parikrama had reached Kolkota on January 30. The team is working towards synergising all efforts of the government, non-government organisations, corporate, volunteers and common public – bring them on common table – for rejuvenating Ganga. After 46 days and approximately 1400 km through the densely populated lands of Uttar Pradesh and mapping the fertile ecosystems of Bihar the Parikrama team has reached the cultural State of West Bengal. It would reach Gangasagar by 04-05 February 2021 and proceed to Patna – Varanasi – Rishikesh – Gomukh and culminate at Prayagraj by August 2021.