Shri Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG); Shri Rozy Agarwal, Executive Director (Finance), NMCG; Shri Avinash D. Ghushe, OSD, Minister (MoWR, RD, GR); Shri Praveen Kumar, Director (Technical); Dr. Raghav Langar, Project Director, State Project Management Group, Uttarakhand and Dr. Sandeep Behera, Biodiversity Consultant, NMCG, visited Wildlife Institute of India, on 18^th April 2018. Aim of the visit was to appraise the activities carried out under the "Biodiversity Conservation and Ganga Rejuvenation" project. The project "Biodiversity Conservation and Ganga Rejuvenation" is an integral part NMCG’s vision for Ganga Rejuvenation by restoring Ganga’s ecological integrity.

The WII-NMCG project team members comprising of the faculty and project personnel participated in the meeting.

The dignitaries were welcomed by Dr. Ruchi Badola, Scientist-G, WII and were felicitated with Rudraksh sapling and framed photographs of the priority aquatic species of the Ganga River. After the felicitation ceremony, Dr. S.A. Hussain, Scientist-G, WII gave a brief introduction about the establishment, mission, objective and structure of the Wildlife Institute of India. He presented an overview of the "Biodiversity Conservation and Ganga Rejuvenation" project, related to its inception, aim, objectives, components and the activities that have been completed and are ongoing. The dignitaries were also shown the relevant and key publications: brochures, books and reports related to the project.

Shri Rajiv Ranjan Mishra and other dignitaries were appreciative about the activities carried out under the project. Shri Rajiv Ranjan Mishra appreciated the concept of Ganga Prahari and capacity building activities carried out for different stakeholders. He was pleased with the brochures, booklets and reports published so far and was impressed with the use of digital media, print media and social media for creating awareness amongst the public regarding aquatic diversity of the Ganga River and Ganga rejuvenation. Shri Rajiv Ranjan Mishra concluded that integration and a holistic approach is the key for the rejuvenation of the Ganga River.

After the meeting, the dignitaries were taken on a brief tour to the Ganga Aqualife Conservation Monitoring Centre (GACMC), the laboratories, and the newly built UNESCO C2C building in the WII premises.