Patna: The Namami Gange Programme in Bihar will be boosted with the urban development department seeking the Centre's nod to clean the Ganga with trash skimmers in areas in and around Patna.

The new cities apart from Patna where trash skimmers are proposed to be engaged to clean Ganga are Bhagalpur, Munger, Ara, Chhapra, Buxar, Hajipur, Mokama, Barh, Fatuah, Sonepur, Khagaria, Begusarai and Sultanganj.

Trash skimmers remove all kinds of floating material like plastic bags, bottles, cans, food packets and religious items dumped in the river.

An urban development official said: "This will boost the Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission called Namami Gange programme with special machines to be installed to clean the river."

The official added that urban local bodies will be the nodal agency to monitor this work.

A trash skimmer was deployed in Patna with tonnes of floating waste being collected everyday and disposed of in a proper manner which proved to be effective. In the coming days, more towns will be identified to carry out similar activities, he said.

All these exercises will be linked to Bhuvan Ganga Mobile Application, an app launched by the Union government, to aid the Clean Ganga mission. People can upload pictures of pollution in the Ganga for further action by authorities concerned. It will enable decision makers to prioritise interventions. However, social activist Vikas Chandra said: "The Namami Gange Programme is proving to be a white elephant. The Ganga is still polluted in Patna despite efforts of the central and state governments. And it will remain so till the problem of sewage creeping into the river is not solved."

He said: "More than 200 million litres per day of sewage water is being discharged into the river every day alone in Patna making a mockery of the Namami Gange Mission. Around 1,000 tonnes of garbage are dumped alongside the Ganga each month with animal carcasses also being thrown in. Engaging trash skimmers will not solve the problem as 74 per cent of pollution in the Ganga is due to sewage water being discharged into it while another 24 per cent comprise industrial waste. These trash skimmers are being engaged for the meagre 2 per cent pollutants."