Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has refused to accept the resignation of India’s “water man”, Magsaysay Award-winner Rajinder Singh and has conveyed to Mr Singh that he wants him to continue with his “struggle” to rejuvenate India’s rivers and water bodies.
Following the PM convening a high-level meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) on Monday, his decision was conveyed to Mr Rajinder Singh by environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan. Senior ministers present at the meeting included finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, minister for water resources Pawan Kumar Bansal, Ms Natarajan and minister for coal Sriprakash Jaiswal.
The PM Is reported to have stressed the need to rejuvenate the Ganga at the earliest and to ensure its continuous flow. He also enquired about the progress of the development of the Ganga River Basin Management Plan which saw the environment ministry enter into an agreement with seven IITs to restore the wholesomeness of all the rivers in the Ganga basin.
Dr Singh also enquired about the health of Prof. G.D. Aggarwal who had undertaken a 45-day fast on the banks of the Ganga at Varanasi to express his concern for the deteriorating status of the river. The PM’s personal intervention saw Prof. Aggarwal being admitted to the SPG district hospital in Varanasi on Sunday. Another sadhu, Gangapremi Bhikshu, is still fasting at Kedar Ghat in Varanasi.