Activists meet Ramesh on rejuvenation of Ganga, Yamuna

The All Ganga Yamuna Panchayat presented a charter of demands to the Minister, expressing concern over the degrading state of the two rivers.

"We are satisfied with the panchayat...I wouldn't prefer to call it a meet...it was a panchayat...He agreed on many of our demands but also talked about his limits," Rajendra Singh said.

The Panchayat believes that the protection, revival and rejuvenation of Ganga and Yamuna with all its eco-systems will help in solving the drinking water problem in the country. "We demand that dams should be decommissioned and want our rivers to be free," said Madhu Kishwar from Manushi Sangthan.

The group said the government of Uttarakhand should realise that the ongoing mining in the Ganga riverbed was "against environmental laws".

"The limit is that the government is working against the environment laws....and the citizens want the rivers to be clean...can't the government just let the people do this," Kishwar said. The activists of the Ganga Yamuna Jal Biradari are set to flag off their Satyagraha to demand the 'freedom' of the rivers on 12th March from the Kumbh Milan 2010, on the anniversary of Gandhiji's Salt Satyagraha.