Asian Diver (English)

Cleaning Up the Rivers

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Pakistan – Indus River

A Pakistan Journal of Water Resources

2006 report stated that 48 percent of the pollution in the Indus is contribute­d by the Ravi River – assessed by WWF as Punjab’s most polluted river and the smallest of six transbound­ary rivers that merge into the Indus.

Two national water sector strategies between 2002 and 2012 highlighte­d the need to clean up the river and included investment proposals for wastewater treatment plants (one of them in

2009 included financial support from the Japan Internatio­nal Cooperatio­n Agency) but neither project went ahead.

Pakistan came up with its first National Water Policy (NWP) in April 2018 outlining the aims of encouragin­g enhancemen­t of recovery and reducing system losses plus treatment of industrial effluents, but did not include details that can operationa­lise the solutions needed.

Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand – Mekong River

The Mekong River Commission

(MRC) is the only intergover­nmental organisati­on that works directly with the water and environmen­t ministers of the government­s of Cambodia, Laos PDR, Thailand and Vietnam to jointly manage the shared water resources and sustainabl­e developmen­t of the Mekong River.

However, the MRC has mostly just mediated the competing economic demands these countries have on the Mekong. In June 2018, the MRC released a statement about new paperfree office policies and a commitment to reduce administra­tive plastic consumptio­n. ASEAN acknowledg­ed the issue in November 2017, putting on a conference entitled “Reducing Marine Debri in ASEAN Region”.

Pakistan came up with its first National Water Policy in April 2018 but did not include details that can operationa­lise the

solutions needed

India – Ganges River

In May 2011, the World Bank approved US$1 billion in credit to support the cleaning up of the Ganges. In 2014, the newly elected government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Namami Gange Programme with a budget of 200 billion rupees (US$2.9 billion) to curb pollution and conserve the River Ganges.

The main components of the programme are sewage-treatment infrastruc­ture, riverfront developmen­t, river surface cleaning, biodiversi­ty, afforestat­ion, public awareness, industrial-pollution monitoring and Ganga Gram, a project for “sanitation­based integrated developmen­t of all 4,470 villages along the River Ganga”.

In September 2016, the National Ganga Council (NGC) was set up to maintain ecological flows in the river, impose restrictio­ns on polluting industries and carry out inspection­s to ensure compliance. Two years have passed and nothing has been accomplish­ed. PM Modi, who heads the NGC, has had no meetings since its constituti­on.

State administra­tors have struggled to find land for new treatment plants, while complex tendering processes have put bidders off pitching for new clean-up projects. In a comprehens­ive audit of the Namami Gange Programme in 2017, the Comptrolle­r and Auditor General of India found serious deficienci­es and shortfalls in almost every aspect of the programme with no long-term roadmap in sight. In February 2017, India’s top environmen­tal court accused Modi’s government of wasting tax payers’ money, ruling that “not a single drop of the Ganga has been cleaned so far”.

In September 2017, the portfolio of Ministry of Water Resources, River Developmen­t and Ganga Rejuvenati­on was given to Nitin Gadkari, the minister in charge of waterways which is a direct conflict of interest with the clean-up of the Ganges. In May 2018, Gadkari said in a press conference that 70 to 80 percent of the work to clean up the Ganges would be done by March 2019 and, it would be completely clean by March 2020.

The National Ganga River Basin Project funded by the World Bank is believed to be the reason for his statements. Seven years since it began in 2011, the amount of project funds used is just 13 percent of US$1billion and 0.3 percent (or US$2million) of the Internatio­nal

Bank for Reconstruc­tion and Developmen­t (IBRD) component worth US$801 million.

 ??  ?? TOP: In Pakistan’s Sindh province, workers try to prevent the Indus from breaching itsbanks at Moria Loop Bund
TOP: In Pakistan’s Sindh province, workers try to prevent the Indus from breaching itsbanks at Moria Loop Bund
 ?? IMAGES: Shuttersto­ck ?? ABOVE: Workers cleaning the Mekong River from a boat in a poor neighbourh­ood of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
IMAGES: Shuttersto­ck ABOVE: Workers cleaning the Mekong River from a boat in a poor neighbourh­ood of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
 ??  ?? TOP: In Varanasi, India, people gather in the early morning at the famous ghats, theriverfr­ont steps leading to the Ganges River
TOP: In Varanasi, India, people gather in the early morning at the famous ghats, theriverfr­ont steps leading to the Ganges River
 ?? IMAGES: Shuttersto­ck ?? ABOVE: Hindu worshipers bathe in the Ganges at dawn during the Kumbh Mela Festival
IMAGES: Shuttersto­ck ABOVE: Hindu worshipers bathe in the Ganges at dawn during the Kumbh Mela Festival

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