Data shows bid to clean Ganga may be working
The Ganga may now be cleaner than it was in 1986, when efforts to clean the river were first launched, with two out of three key parameters showing an improvement in some stretches across 10 important cities, according to data from the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) that has been seen by Hindustan Times.
The parameters are Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and biological oxygen demand (BOD), both determinants of how suited water is for river life . The third parameter is faecal coliform level, which determines if the water is fit for drinking and bathing with. This data was not provided by NMCG, though the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) – the country’s pollution watchdog -measured the water quality against all three parameters and provided the data to NMCG.
NMCG is spearheading the Rs 20,000 crore Namami Gange program to clean the river.
A report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on Rejuvenation of Ganga tabled in Parliament last year said that during 2016-17, the total coliform level in Ganga across all cities of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal that it flowed through, was six to 334 times higher than the prescribed levels.
For better water quality, DO should be more than 5mg/l and BOD should be less than 3mg/l. The CPCB data shows DO levels in ten cities – Rishikesh, Haridwar, Garhmukteshwar, Kannauj, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, Palta and Uluberia – was more than 5 mg/l in 2017.
The BOD level was found to be less than the permissible level in fewer stretches.
Experts said it’s too early to say the water quality of the river is improving. “There have been some improvement but again there are fluctuations. There has been no change in waste generation... The faecal coliform level needs improvement,” said RM Bhardwaj, senior scientist at CPCB, who is incharge of monitoring the river water quality.
Environmental activist MC Mehta agrees: “The CAG report tabled last year clearly shows that quality of the river has deteriorated over the years. A ministry official claimed that in the past few years faecal coliform level has remained the same.
NEW DELHI: