French tourist vows to clean holy Ganges

Varanasi: A French tourist is actively promoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s Clean Ganga campaign in Uttar Pradesh, vowing to spread the message of keeping the holy river free from impurities in rural parts of the country.

Krish, who came to India to take part in `Kumb Mela` last year, was concerned on seeing the condition of the river considered holy by Hindus.

Inspired by Prime Minister Modi`s Clean Ganga campaign, Krish took the responsibility of cleaning the river in Varanasi.

"When I see some garbage in the Ganga then I keep the garbage with me, then I put in the re-garbage for the people to take care of this and I will continue it every down my road. Never I will put any plastic, anything in the Ganga except may be some things that the animals can eat," said Krish.

Prime Minister Modi has vowed to restore river Ganga, as part of a broader push to India`s scarce water resources and improve standards of public health and hygiene.Krish says he will soon embark on an expedition from Rishikesh to Kolkata by boat in a bid to spread the message of keeping the river free from impurities.

"I would make a special expedition, the challenge to go from Rishikesh to Kolkata only by boat by my hand to give the message to the people about the need to clean Ganga like Modi said to do before," he said.

Previous attempts to clean up the river, including introducing flesh-eating turtles to devour the charred remains of the dead cremated on its banks, have failed due to a lack of planning or coordination.

Prime Minister Modi has vowed to clean up India, starting with Varanasi, widely considered Hinduism`s holiest city and also his parliamentary constituency.