Mr.
Babu on the status of River Ganga
as of March 2009.
There are issues with regards to
water flow and pollution in the
Ganga as of March 2009. Pollution
has become a major issue as what
was anticipated in the 1985 when
Rajeev Gandhi launched the Ganga
Action Plan (GAP)—a dedicated
programme launched in 1985 to restore
the river back to bathing water
quality. And what we have achieved
so far is quite different. When
it was desired to bring Ganga back
to life and we anticipated that
the BOD (Bio chemical Oxygen Demand)
level were below three mille grams
per liter and the river will be
used for bathing and religious purposes.
Today we are finding that BOD level
in most parts of Ganga, as it passes
through other cities are above three
mille grams per liter. This means
the pollution levels are increasing.
And the co-relation is evident because
you notice that most of the cities
in the banks of Ganga are growing
in numbers, the water usage is growing
and there by the pollution that
is being discharged is also increasing.
So definitely, we have not being
able to deal with the amount of
sewage or pollution discharged in
the river.
The fecal coliform contamination,
i.e. the pathogenic microorganisms
level in this river right from the
upstream (hills) to the Gangasagar
(from there it goes to Bay of Bengal)
is increasing. This is very unsafe,
as it has direct impact on the health
of the people who use this water.
