Namaami Gange: Rejuvenating the Holy River

In May 2015, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in India, led by Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi (Modi) drew the ire of the Supreme Court of the country over slow progress of the Namami Gange project, aimed at cleaning and protecting river Ganga in a comprehensive manner. Slamming the government, the Supreme Court bench questioned, “You should be more keen than us…You said you are committed to this (cleaning the river). So, do you want to complete this task in this term or not? Rejuvenating the Ganga and other important rivers was among the key promises in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. While filing his nomination as a BJP candidate from Varanasi, located on the banks of river Ganga, Modi promised to clean the holy river. Modi claimed, “I don't think anyone has sent me here, or I have come here. I feel Mother Ganga has called me to Varanasi...