Ballia: Migrants workers, who returned to their villages in Uttar Pradesh due to the coronavirus lockdown, have been roped in to plant trees and beautify the banks of river Ganga in at least seven districts of eastern part of the state as part of the Namami Gange project.

“More than 3,000 migrant workers of various districts have been employed by local authorities for the work under the project. The shortage of labour that we faced earlier was taken care of,” said Subodh Kumar, overseer of the project in eastern UP. The migrant workers were hired by different departments and organisations working on the project, including the local district administration, municipal bodies and the forest departments. In Bhadohi, around 200 migrant labourers were hired for a plantation drive along a 10 km stretch of the river in July. Similarly, in Rae Bareli around 350 migrants were hired for a plantation drive in August.

In Ballia, around 300 migrant labourers helped in clearing the banks of Ganga for a plantation drive in August. Over 400 others have helped in strengthening the embankments in the district. The migrant workers, paid by their hiring departments, earned between Rs 200 to Rs 300 for a day’s work. “More than 120 km long stretch on Ganga’s banks was cleared or underwent plantation drive with the help of migrant labourers since July this year,” said Kumar.

Ganga enters Uttar Pradesh in Bijnor and travels around 1200 km before entering Bihar after passing through Ballia. The beautification of the entire stretch has been underway since 2017.

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