Ganga ghats to be developed for tourists

New Delhi, July 7 (IANS): In an effort to develop ghats along river Ganga as prominent tourist destinations, the tourism ministry proposed to renovate the ghats, introduce houseboats and build more dams, officials said.

Union Culture and Tourism Minister Shripad Yesso Naik presented a proposal on this at the ‘Ganga Manthan – National Dialogue on Ganga’ – a day-long conference organized by the National Mission for Clean Ganga and attended by Indian and foreign delegates at the Vigyan Bhawan here.

"From Gangotri till Ganga Sagar, all ghats will be developed as a tourist spots. We are also thinking about introducing shikaras (houseboats) like in Kashmir," said a tweet from the ministry of information and broadcasting quoting Naik.

"There is a proposal to build dams every hundred kilometre (on the river)," the ministry said in another tweet quoting Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari.

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar tweeted: "Clean Ganga is an essential part of the environment. Clean Ganga will help in preserving our ecology. We are committed for clean Ganga. Today’s Ganga Manthan is a major step in this direction."

"Nation is committed for continuous and uninterrupted flow of Ganga," tweeted Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti.