A 16-member delegation of the leading Japanese NGO, OISCA, arrived in India to kickstart plantation activities in the cities of Sambhal and Varanasi on Friday in association with the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)
The plantation activity is part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which was signed between the Orgsation for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement (OISCA) International and NMCG back in 2017 with the aim to collaborate in specific activities for pollution abatement and river rejuvenation of the river Ganga.
"Action under the MoU was kicked off today with the visit of the 16 members from a strong team. The team has especially flown down from Japan for undertaking plantation activity in Sambhal and Varanasi in association with NMCG and their local partners M/s. ALAR," a release by the NMCG on Friday read.
"The plantation activity in Varanasi will also go a long way towards building cooperation under the Kyoto-Varanasi pact, under which both cities became Partners," it added.
Prior to this, Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, the Director-General of NMCG held a meeting with the delegation. At the onset of the meeting, Ranjan expressed his appreciation for the efforts made by the delegation in contributing to the Namami Gange afforestation initiatives in the Ganga Basin.
He also appraised the International team regarding the progress made under the Namami Gange Programme for rejuvenation of Ganga.
"I am happy to share with you that all 4465 villages on the Ganga banks have now been declared ODF and 1.1 million independent household toilets have been constructed at a cost of 15 billion Yen," Mishra said at the meeting.
In turn, Toshihiro Nakano, Acting President of the OISCA International said that India and Japan share a common perspective, with a focus on traditional values. He also mentioned that the Ambassador of Japan to India Kenji Hiramatsu had expressed a strong willingness to support the collaboration between NMCG and OISCAInternational.
Tadashi Watanabe, Vice President of the OISCA International mentioned that they are working towards involving the 125 years old Tokyo University of Agriculture and Banaras Hindu University in their partnership with NMCG.
OISCA International was established in 1961 in Tokyo and had a fruitful association with India during the Green Revolution Era.
( With inputs from ANI )