<P> During the summer and monsoon, hospital wards teem with children who need treatment for waterborne diseases - but according to S.C. Singh, a paediatrician at Varanasi Shiv Prasad Gupta Hospital, their parents rarely mention that they have been swimming in the river . They don't appear to have made the connection, he says . </P> <P> Ganga Mahasabha is an Indian organisation dedicated to the Ganges, founded by Madan Mohan Malviya in 1905 . After a long struggle, British India agreed on 5 November 1914 that the uninterrupted flow of the Ganges is the rudimentary right of Hindu believers . The day is known as a' Aviral Ganga Samjhauta Divas' (Uninterrupted Ganga flow agreement day) in the history of India and the agreement came into existence on 19 December 1916 which is known as Agreement of 1916 . The sanctity of the agreement is not preserved by the state and central governments of India after independence though it is legally valid . More and more river water is diverted for irrigation use converting the river into a polluted sewer . </P> <P> The Ganges Action Plan (GAP) was launched by Shri Rajeev Gandhi, then by the Prime Minister of India, on 14 January 1986 . Its main objective was to improve the water quality by the interception, diversion and treatment of domestic sewage and to prevent toxic and industrial chemical wastes from identified polluting units from entering the river . The other objectives of the GAP are as follows: </P> <Ul> <Li> Control of non-point pollution from agricultural run off, human defecation, cattle wallowing and the disposal of human remains in the river . </Li> <Li> Research and development to conserve the biotic diversity of the river to augment its productivity . </Li> <Li> Development of sewage treatment technology such as Up - flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) and sewage treatment through afforestation . </Li> <Li> Rehabilitation of soft - shelled turtles for pollution abatement . </Li> <Li> Resource recovery options such as methane production for energy generation and use of aquaculture for revenue generation . </Li> <Li> To act as trend setter for taking up similar action plans in other grossly polluted stretches in other rivers . </Li> <Li> The ultimate objective of the GAP is to have an approach of integrated river basin management considering the various dynamic interactions between abiotic and biotic eco-system . </Li> </Ul>

Ganga action plan was started in which year