Patna, March 9: Ganga hamari jeevan dhara hai, Ganga ko bachana hai (river Ganga is our lifeline, and we have to save it).

Social activist Vikas Chandra, better known as Guddu Baba, delivered this message at the IIT-Roorkee annual technical festival, Cognizance 2017. He was felicitated as an unsung hero for environmental activism and his campaign to save the Ganga.

"It was a touching moment as the premier institute recognised my work and offered me to take classes as a visiting professor, which I accepted," Vikas said. "I will be there in November and December, delivering lectures on environmental issues to students."

Chandra told the IIT students: "Not only Ganga, there should be a drive to purify all rivers. In fact, every source of water - be it ponds, reservoirs or lakes - should be kept clean. Only by doing so can we save the Earth. It is good that the Centre has undertaken the Namami Gange programme, but it requires effective monitoring." Chandra added that funds were not an impediment any more, as the Centre had sanctioned Rs 1,050 crore to Bihar for different projects under the prgramme.

Chandra's crusade for a cleaner Ganga started with the Ganga Bachao Andolan in 1998 after he saw a man bathing in sewage flowing beside the river at Patna's Bans Ghat. He sat on a 48-hour-long fast in the city on December 31, 1998, after that. The aim was to draw the attention of the authorities towards the appalling condition of the holy river - the sewage, the filth, the floating bodies near the banks.

Today, he is not alone in his cause. There is an army of dedicated volunteers who work with him on a regular basis to clean up the Ganga.

He has filed 38 public interest litigations in Patna High Court and four in the apex court for the cause. Business tycoon Mukesh Ambani also felicitated him in 2009.

"I have received threats and been pressured to stop my mission," Vikas said. "But I am determined to make a difference and nothing can stop me from doing that. I still have miles to go in my mission."