Ahmedabad, June 5: Marking the day to its significance, Gujarat kicked off the drive to clean Sabarmati river, which is counted among the most polluted rivers in the country. The drive launched here on Wednesday by by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, is under paths of the Central Pollution Control Board's National Water Quality Programme.
"On the World Environment Day, we have launched the Sabarmati clean-up campaign. Sabarmati is a historic river, and such a drive is being undertaken for the first time in many years. Due to the initiative of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, people have come out in thousands to take part in the cleanliness drive," the chief minister said.
The 'Swachh Sabarmati Maha Abhiyan' was launched from the banks of the river near historic Sabarmati ashhram and is scheduled to continue till June 9. Thousands of citizens took part in the drive to clean a stretch between Dufnala and Vasna barrage in Ahmedabad where CM Rupani participated in cleaning a part of the riverbed, which has almost dried up across the riverfront.
As per a CPCB study based on the biological oxygen demand, the Sabarmati river is amongst the most polluted rivers in the country. It is amongst the top three polluted rivers in Gujarat, the other two being Amlakhadi and Khadi.
"The river bed will be cleared of pollutants during the drive. Sabarmati would flow as a clean river after monsoon," CM Rupani said further appealing to citizens to voluntarily take part in the campaign.