NEW DELHI:See it, click it and report it. In a bid to clean up river Ganga, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has now come up with a mobile app, ‘Bhuvan-Ganga’, through which people can click a selfie near a polluted site of the river and upload it on the app developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Once it’s uploaded, the department officials would be directed to start the clean-up process at the particular site.
The app has a map of the 2,500 km-long river marked on it and the picture of the polluted sites that will be uploaded by people will be pinned to the particular location on the map.
The NMCG is hoping that this process will help them develop a huge database of the polluted areas and that way, they will be able to send weekly reminders to the Pollution Control Board officers and local authorities to clean up the site.
While reviewing the Clean Ganga plans, Prime Minister Narendra Modi too called for people’s involvement to attain sustainable results. And in a first, this initiative will give the people a chance to be a part of the Ganga clean-up drive. The Ministry of Water Resources is also confident that the app would soon become a powerful monitoring tool, once it gets operational. Despite continuing with its trial for nearly three months, the app is yet to be launched formally as the ISRO and NMCG want to address all loopholes before it goes live.
“This would allow many people to get involved in the clean-up process. The map will be regularly updated with lakhs of pictures uploaded by citizens. We will also put up sequential pictures of the site every month to determine how far things have improved,” said a senior Water Resources Ministry official.
The ministry officials also made it clear that the app would bring in transparency to the whole process. “Factories discharging untreated waste
in the river will be under constant watch. Anyone will be able to report it and that too, on a daily basis. Pollution Control Board officials or inspection officials would not be able to shy away from their duties,” acknowledged another official.
The app would not only help officials get a hang of things, it would also help them assess the work flow.
“Data (pictures) given by the common man would be very useful as it would bring in transparency. It would clear all confusion as none will be able to shrug off responsibilities,” the official explained.
The ministry sources said another system, through which people will be able to directly report pollution issues, make a database and seek action, is also being planned.
The Cabinet has approved Rs 20,000 crore over the next five years for the ‘Namami Gange’ programme, which integrates the efforts to protect Ganga in a comprehensive way.
