london external affairs minister sushma swaraj has asked britains 15 million people of indian origin to contribute in cleaning the 2500km long river ganges the narendra modi government recently placed before the supreme court a blueprint of measures that spread over 18 years and thousands of crore of investment to restore the glory of the holy river the government has identified 118 towns situated on its banks as a first target to achieve total sanitation including water waste treatment ghat development and beautification of river front at several places such as kedarnath haridwar kanpur varanasi allahabad and patna are part of the project swaraj on friday inaugurated the pravasi bharatiya divas diaspora convention here along with her british counterpart philip hammond she said as we rejoice in the success of the indian diaspora we also invite you to actively participate in indias growth story several exciting projects such as the clean ganga project metro rail project and smart cities project are on the anvil where you can contribute meaningfully she added that the government was fully committed to good governance clear policies efficiency accountability speedy decision making transparency and favourable business environment there are tremendous opportunities today for you to join us especially in the fields of manufacturing infrastructure development education health skills development science and technology research and innovation knowledge economy and youth development as part of our effort to realise indias full potential swaraj said that britains decision to erect a statue of mahatma gandhi at the parliament square in 2015 will be a symbol of the strong mutual goodwill between our two countries former british foreign secretary william hague and chancellor of the exchequer george osborne during their recent visit to india had announced that uk would install the statue the 11th to be erected in the square the statue will stand next to britains wartime pm winston churchill and antiapartheid leader nelson mandela the plans are to unveil the new statue on martyrs day january 30 2015 hopefully by indian pm narendra modi uk says once installed the statue will provide a focal point for commemoration next summer of the 100th anniversary of gandhis return to india from south africa to start the struggle for selfrule as well as the passing of 70 years since his death in 2018 and the 150th anniversary of his birth in 2019 philip jackson a leading british figurative sculptor renowned for statues of the queen mother and bomber command is making the statue swaraj also thanked the david cameron led government for showing tremendous goodwill towards india since the new government took over following the historic parliamentary elections in our country earlier this year swaraj said india regards relations with the uk as a priority in indias external engagement and seek to raise this multifaceted partnership to greater heights swaraj said the modi led government was committed to engaging with the diaspora to leverage each others strengths to mutual benefit she informed the indian community in uk