Khattar shoots off letter to Kejri: ‘Stop release of toxic water’
CHANDIGARH:HARYANA chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar shot off a letter to his counterpart in New Delhi, expressing concern over the release of highly polluted water into Yamuna river and Gurugram canal.
Khattar also urged Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to personally look into the issue and direct all departments concerned to ensure that no untreated or partially treated effluent is released into the river Yamuna and Gurugram canal, an official release said.
Khattar further said that more than 60 drains having partially treated or untreated effluents of industrial or domestic sources mix with the Yamuna during its course in Delhi.
This causes severe pollution of the river before its re-entry into Haryana, he added.
Khattar highlighted that biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in the river at Basantpur village during July-december, 2018 had ranged from 45-46 milligram per litre against the permissible limit of 3.0 milligram per litre.
The BOD in Gurugram canal, the only major source of irrigation water for the Mewat area, ranged from 32-45 milligram per litre during the same period.
This, he said, was a matter of grave concern as the release of highly polluted water into river Yamuna and Gurugram canal severely affects the health of a large number of families of Gurugram, Faridabad, Palwal and Nuh districts.
Besides, it also badly impacts agricultural productivity of the farmers of these districts, he said. Hence, there is a dire need for Delhi Government to treat the effluents and to ensure that only fully treated sewage is released into the river Yamuna, the Haryana CM added.