163 River Guardians Honored as Republic Day Special Guests by Jal Shakti Ministry

The official from the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation said on Sunday that as a tribute to the country's rivers, spectator enclosures for the Parade have been named after Beas, Brahmaputra, Chambal, Chenab, Gandak, Ganga, Ghagra, Godavari, Sindhu, Jhelum, Kaveri, Kosi, Krishna, Mahanadi, Narmada, Pennar, Periyar, Ravi, Sone, Sutlej, Teesta, Vaigai and Yamuna.

"This Special Guest invitation not only recognises community contribution but also provides an opportunity for rural citizens to witness a national-level ceremony of historic significance at Kartavya Path," said the official in a statement.

"Their presence will reinforce the message of people's participation (Jan Bhagidari) and community engagement as central elements of national development efforts. These Special guests will be seated in Periyar enclosure," said the statement.

Out of the 63 Special Guests comprising water warriors, 28 are from Uttarakhand, 10 from Jharkhand, 40 from Bihar and 85 from Uttar Pradesh.

The Special Guests include Ganga Praharis or guardians of the river who are motivated and trained volunteers from among the local communities working for biodiversity conservation and cleanliness of the Ganga, said the statement.

They work with the ultimate objectives of restoring the "Nirmal and Aviral Dhara" and conserving the ecological integrity of the river under joint collaboration of the National Mission for Clean Ganga and Wildlife Institute of India, it said.

Besides the Ganga Praharis, private citizens/NGOs involved in the protection and conservation of aquatic fauna like dolphins and turtles and river conservation and community outreach have also been invited to witness the Republic Day Parade.

V. L. Kantha Rao, Secretary, DoWR, RD & GR, will be participating in Republic Day Celebrations from Ghaghra enclosure, said the statement.

These Special Guests will also be interacting with Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil and both Ministers of State V. Somanna and Raj Bhushan Choudhry on January 27, said the statement.

- IANS