Monday, 9 June 2025
As part of its innovative Arth Ganga initiative, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), in collaboration with HESCO, recently launched the ‘Ganga Bhog – Gangotri se GangaSagar Tak’ project in Rishikesh.
The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has launched an innovative initiative called Ganga Bhog that integrates five core elements — Mother (Ganga), Mandir (temple), Mitti (soil), Mahila (women), and Mota-Anaj (millets). Under this scheme, millets grown by local women farmers on the fertile banks of the Ganga River are used to prepare prasad offerings for temples along the river, promoting a healthier, locally sourced alternative to the usual offerings like rice and sugar sweets often brought from urban centers outside the Ganga basin.
This unique approach aims to support livelihood generation for women millet farmers while encouraging sustainable and environmentally friendly religious practices, in line with the “Vocal for Local” movement. The initiative also resonates with the United Nations’ declaration of 2023 as the International Year of Millets, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a nationwide millet promotion movement. NMCG envisions transforming the Ganga basin into a millet basin by promoting natural farming methods in the coming years.
The Ganga Bhog initiative is part of NMCG’s broader Arth Ganga program, which includes six key verticals: Zero Budget Natural Farming to increase farmers’ income, ‘Gobar Dhan’ for enhanced farmer welfare, monetization and reuse of sludge and wastewater, livelihood generation, public participation, and promotion of cultural heritage and tourism. Additionally, the Jalaj project, launched in August 2021, supports livelihoods connected to the Ganga River.
G. Asok Kumar, speaking on the prasad scheme, emphasized the importance of involving rural women and utilizing local grains for temple offerings along the riverbanks, highlighting its benefits for both community welfare and environmental conservation.
