In a bid to accelerate efforts to clean the Ganga by reducing the inflow of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, the Uttar Pradesh government has planned to promote organic farming within a 10-kilometre radius of both banks of the river throughout the state.

The effort has been planned on the river banks in 27 districts in the state through which Ganga flows, and that include Bijnor, Badaun, Amroha, Meerut, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Farrukhabad, Kannauj, Kanpur city, Kanpur Dehat, Fatehpur, Prayagraj, Mirzapur and Ghazipur.

While organic farming efforts in the state were launched in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s first term, this move to ensure its implementation on the banks of the Ganga is intended at ensuring its uninterrupted flow, free of all pollutants.

As reported, this will be backed by afforestation efforts on 6,759 hectares along the banks of the river in the next six months and plantation drives will be held in 503 places across different districts, starting off with Kasganj.

Organic farming, which has a great potential in the Gangetic plains owing to the change of soil every year due to the floods, is already being undertaken in the state with 103,442 farmers in 3,309 clusters spread over an area of 63,080 hectares under the Namami Ganga Yojana.

Afforestation efforts are also being planned along the banks of the tributaries of Ganga and will see medicinal, rare and traditional herbs being planted.