TV series on ‘Namami Gange’ programme to be aired

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) A special short capsule feature series highlighting the work done by Namami Gange programme is set to be showcased on Indian television.

The 'Namami Gange' programme, one of the flagship projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, was launched in 2015 with a five-year budget of Rs 20,000 crore for cleaning the river Ganges.

Discovery Communications India will air the series on it starting from the Independence Day on August 15.

U.P. Singh, Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga, said in a statement: "The 'Namami Gange' programme aims to accomplish the objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of national river Ganga. We are delighted to partner with Discovery Communications India and leverage their platforms to create awareness about the work being done by Namami Gange across the length of the river Ganges."

Vikram Tanna, Vice President, Head of Advertising Sales and Business Head of Regional Clusters, South Asia, Discovery Communications India, said: "We have used world's first attempt to cover river Ganges on a stand-up paddle board as the core storytelling arc and closely integrated the work done on ground by Namami Gange to create a very informative series.

"The short-capsule, episodic story telling format is also being tried for the very first time. I am confident that this will attract viewer's attention."

Late last year, Shilpika Gautam led a team of four individuals, in a unique attempt to cover the entire length of the Ganges on a stand-up paddle board. The team covered the distance in 101 days of continuous paddling.

Starting from Gaumukh in Uttarakhand, the team paddled through the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The journey culminated at Sagar Island (Ganga Sagar) in the Ganges delta in West Bengal. During the process, Shilpika Gautam broke the world record for the longest continuous stand-up paddle boarded distance by a female in a single journey.

Discovery had covered this expedition, and integrated the work done by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), the implementing arm of 'Namami Gange' programme at key junctures to create the series.

It will air across seven Discovery portfolio channels including Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Discovery HD World, Animal Planet HD World, TLC HD World and Discovery Tamil.