The Ganga River Water Pollution

There is a universal reverence to water in almost all of the major religions of the world.
Most religious beliefs involve some ceremonial use of "holy" water. The purity of such
water, the belief in its known historical and unknown mythological origins, and the
inaccessibility of remote sources, elevate its importance even further. In India, the water
of the river Ganga is treated with such reverence.
How mighty even is The Ganga?

Very mighty…
Exploitation of The Ganga!

In the recent past, due to rapid progress in communications and commerce, there has been a
swift increase in the urban areas along the river Ganga, As a result the river is no longer only
a source of water but is also a channel, receiving and transporting urban wastes away from
the towns. Today, one third of the country's urban population lives in the towns of the Ganga
basin. Out of the 2,300 towns in the country, 692 are located in this basin, and of these, 100
are located along the river bank itself.
Previous Statistics.
A 2006 measurement of pollution in the Ganges revealed that river water monitoring over the previous 12 years had
demonstrated fecal coliform counts up to 100,000,000 MPN (most probable number) per 100 ml and biological oxygen
demand levels averaging over 40 mg/l in the most polluted part of the river in Varanasi. The overall rate of water-borne/enteric
disease incidence, including acute gastrointestinal disease, was estimated to be about 66%.
A systematic classification done by Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board's (UEPPCB) on river
waters into the categories (A: safe for drinking, B: safe for bathing, C: safe for agriculture, and D: excessive pollution), put the
Ganges in D. Coliform bacteria levels in the Ganges have also been tested to be at 5,500, a level too high to be safe for
agricultural use let alone drinking and bathing.
 So…how is The Ganga doing now?
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)'s latest available data, the water quality of Ganga across a
significant portion of its 2,500 kilometers length is still unfit for bathing and drinking as it does not meet the
permissible parameters for biochemical oxygen demand and total coliform.
Sewage treatment plants (STPs) have been at the centre of Ganga pollution abatement. As per Namami Gange targets,
STPs with over 2,000 million litres a day (MLD) capacity had to be rehabilitated of which only 328 MLD have been
done. There is another fundamental problem that will ensure the holy river remains dirty. A river is a self-purifying
system only when water flows through it. The Ganga fails this basic test except during monsoons
Actions taken to clean the river.
Namami Gange Programme
Prime Minister Narendra Modi realising the need for action at the earliest to rescue a river that has nurtured us through time immemorial affirmed to work in
cleaning the river and controlling pollution and announced the Namami Ganga project in the July 2014 budget. The ‘Namami Gange Programme’, is an Integrated
Conservation Mission. It was approved by the Union Government in June 2014, as a ‘Flagship Programme’ with a budget outlay of Rs.20,000 crore. The aim of
the project is to clean the Ganga and its tributaries in a comprehensive manner. The objectives of the programme included effective abatement of pollution,
conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga by adopting the following steps:
• Sewerage Treatment Infrastructure
• River-Front Development
• River-Surface Cleaning
• Bio-Diversity
• Afforestation
• Public Awareness
• Industrial Effluent Monitoring
• Ganga Gram
Details of the approved projects
• Bihar has got three major sewage infrastructure projects in Barh, Kankarbagh and Digha. The estimated cost of this project is Rs 1,461 crore, which would
create additional sewage treatment capacity in Kankarbagh and Barh.
• Three projects have been approved in West Bengal including two pertaining to sewage infrastructure and the third for river front development. The estimated
cost for the said project is Rs 495.47 crore. The Ganga in Howrah as well as Tolly’s Nullah (popularly known as Adi Ganga), a tributary of Ganga in Kolkata
will be treated for pollution abatement and rehabilitation work at a total estimated cost of Rs 492.34 crore.
• The Boral Ferry and the Boral Bathing Ghats in Nabadwip town of West Bengal will also be renovated at an estimated cost of 3.13 crore INR. The renovation
will include river bank protection work, construction of waiting rooms and stairs, and seating arrangements.
• In Uttar Pradesh a sewage infrastructure project has been approved at an estimated cost of 27.98 crore INR in Chunar in the Mirzapur district.
• Ganga Monitoring Centres, to check the pollution levels and monitor the cleanliness of the river, will be established in 5 Ganga states at an estimated cost of
46.69 Crore INR.
• Two pilot projects for treatment of drains using bioremediation method have also been approved for Danapur drain in Patna and Nehru Drain in Allahabad at
an estimated cost of 1.63 crore INR
Lessons learned.
The 18th of June marked Ganga Dussehra, the day we lovingly refer to as “Gangaji’s Birthday.” It is the day on which we
commemorate the time when, answering the tapasya and incessant prayers of King Bhagirath, Ganga flowed down from the
heavens to the Earth.
Ganga did not flow down merely because it wanted to, but rather with a very specific purpose – to serve humanity. In the story of
it’s descent, it descended from heaven itself to flow onto the Earth to liberate the 60,000 sons of King Sagar, who had been turned
to ash yet had not received final rites. Thus, Ganga’s waters flowed down and washed over the ashes, freeing their souls.
Likewise, today Ganga is seen as a liberator, and anyone who takes a dip in Her waters is freed from all past karma.

But Ganga doesn’t provide just liberation, but also life itself, as it provides water for the hundreds of millions who l live along
Her banks. Over 500 million people live within the Ganga River Basin and directly depend on Her nourishing waters, as well as
millions of animals and plant species. Her waters irrigate thousands of farms which feed more than one-third of India’s
population.
Ganga also teaches us so many lessons on how to truly live divine lives. First, its waters flow for all. Whether one believes in its
sanctity and sings its aarti daily or throws trash in it, whether it is a Hindu’s farm or a Muslim’s farm or a Christian’s farm,
Ganga’s waters provide for all. It quenches everyone’s thirst, and irrigates everyone’s farms. It never hesitates and never
discriminates, but gives and gives and gives.
Development is necessary. People need electricity, clean water, proper sanitation, jobs, and technology, and there is nothing
wrong with these things. But the question becomes, at what cost? If our over consumption and ceaseless desire for more and
more leads to the destruction of our own Mother Earth, this is a tragic problem.

The choices we make in our lifestyle have direct consequences for the planet we live in and that our children will inherit. What
we eat, what we buy, where we go and how we get there all play formidable roles in whether we will bequeath to our children a
planet that is green, lush, healthy and able to sustain life, or one that is desecrated, polluted, poisoned and poisonous to its
remaining inhabitants.
 My recommendations for cleaner Ganga.
1. ARTIFICIAL AERATION / COMPRESSED AIR INJECTION, IN ORDER TO
INCREASE DISSOLVED OXYGEN & BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES TO
IMPROVE QUALITY OF GANGAJAL.
2. RECLAMATION, RESTORATION, CONSERVATION AND MAINTENANCE
OF INLAND NATURAL - RIPARIAN ZONES & WETLANDS ON GANGA
RIVER.
3. REMOVAL OF CHIR PINE TREES & REPLANTATION OF BANJ OAK &
OTHER NATIVE VEGETATION IN LOWER TO MIDDLE HIMALAYA.
4. . WATER & WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT & IMPORTANCE OF
"CONSTRUCTED WETLAND".
5. EFFECTIVE & SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF MUNICIPAL SOLID
WASTE IN BIG CITIES AT "SPECIAL RECYCLING ZONES [SRZ]".