GANGA

Ganga means different things to different people—she’s the river, the life-giver, the mother and the Goddess. Apart from being India’s longest and most revered river, Ganga and her tributaries traverse eleven states and provide livelihood to nearly 43 per cent Indians. Despite being so special, Ganga has been getting polluted, with its ecology and flow endangered. Many initiatives to clean the river ended up either being hugely inadequate or dismal failures. The dilemma before the new team of National Mission for Clean Ganga was not just the enormity of the task, but also having to bear the scar of past failures. This haunting legacy stayed with them every step of the way in their long, complex and daunting journey. So, how do you even begin to think of re-imagining, rejuvenating and reconnecting with Ma Ganga? From the beginning, the team adopted a radically different and holistic approach to resolve the ‘wicked problem’ while dealing with multiple stakeholders and their clash of ideas on the road ahead. This insider’s account by two change-makers chronicles this long and complex journey so far transcending the challenges of over abstraction of water, pollution abatement, bringing behavioural change and making collaborative partnerships to achieve their goals. More importantly, it brought back some of the love and respect of the people for its Mother and Goddess. The authors are categorical that the task is not yet over, much more needs to be done. However, the successful journey so far, as demonstrated by the findings of this book, is a testament to the fact that a job well begun is not just half done, but also provides a road map for the future successes.