Varanasi: For the cause of the Ganga, an impressive rally was carried out under the banner of Ganga Raksha Manch (GRM) from Rajendra Prasad Ghat to Lahurabir on Thursday. Besides the local citizens and seers, hundreds of students from different schools and vedic students of Sri Vidya Math took part in the march demanding free flow of the river and the status of national river for it. Before marching to Lahurabir, they took part in a hawan and pujan on Rajendra Prasad Ghat. The hawan and pujan was performed by the vedic students of Panini Kanya Mahavidyalaya amidst chanting of vedic mantras. The puja was attended by Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati of Sri Vidya Math, Mahanth Rameshwar Puri of Annapurna Mandir, BJP MLAs Shyamdeo Roychaudhury and Jyotsna Srivastava and others. At Lahurabir crossing, they submitted a memorandum to the additional city magistrate. In the memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister, it was demanded that Ganga should be declared the national river. Their other demands included withdrawal of Ganga Expressway project, formation of Ganga conservation authority at national level, proper treatment of sewage in the cities along the river, complete check on the disposal of dead bodies and wastes into the river and free flow of water in the river.