Ganga River pollution

Geographical coverage is the largest – 26% of India’s land mass
Most populated basin – hosts 43% of India’s population
Annual surface water potential – 28% of India’s total
38% of India’s total estimated utilizable water comes from Ganga Basin – highest amongst all
Estimated utilizable surface water in Ganga is 48%
Nearly 40% of India’s total estimated replenishable ground water resources comes from Ganga Basin

1. Presented By: Chethan B J 2019-28-003 S1, Ph.D (SWCE) KCAET, Tavanur Ganga River P ollution

2. Introduction The river Ganga occupies a unique position in the cultural ethos of India . Millions of Hindus accept its water as sacred. Even today, people carry treasured Ganga water all over India and abroad because it is "holy" water and known for its "curative" properties. The Ganga rises on the southern slopes of the Himalayan ranges from the Gangotri glacier at 4,000 m above mean sea level In the Budget document, the government’s allocation to the ‘National Ganga Plan and Ghat works’ shows only ₹750 crore for 2019-2020

3. Importance of Ganga Basin in India Geographical coverage is the largest – 26% of India’s land mass Most populated basin – hosts 43% of India’s population Annual surface water potential – 28% of India’s total 38% of India’s total estimated utilizable water comes from Ganga Basin – highest amongst all Estimated utilizable surface water in Ganga is 48% Nearly 40% of India’s total estimated replenishable ground water resources comes from Ganga Basin

4. Present Situation 2009 2013 Sewage generation(MLD) 2,638 2,723 Treatment Capacity(MLD) 1,174 1,208 Gap(MLD) 1,464 1,514 %gap 55 55 Domestic Sewage: Sewage adds up to 85 percent of the river’s pollution load. The 2009 and 2013 CPCB estimates are shown in the table: MLD- Million liters per day Along the main river course there are 25 towns with a population of more than 100,000 and about another 23 towns with populations above 50,000. In addition there are 50 smaller towns with populations above 20,000. There are also about 100 identified major industries located directly on the river, of which 68 are considered as grossly polluting . sixth most polluted river in the world.

5. According to most recent data provided by CPCB, the actual measured discharge of wastewater is 6,087 MLD which is much higher than the estimated discharge of wastewater . As per the UECPCB study, while the level of coliform present in water should be below 50 for drinking purposes, less than 500 for bathing and below 5000 for agricultural use— the present level of coliform in Ganga at Haridwar has reached 5500. Industrial Wastewater: 2013 CPCB estimates show that 764 industries in the mainstream of ganga consume 1,123 MLD of water and discharge 500 MLD of effluent .

6. According to the study, the main cause of high level of coliform in Ganga is due to disposal of human faeces, urine and sewage directly into the river from its starting point in Gaumukh till it reaches Haridwar via Rishikesh . Nearly 89 million litres of sewage is daily disposed into Ganga from the 12 municipal towns that fall along its route till Haridwar in 2013 Environmental Biology Laboratory, Department pf Zoology, Patna University, showed the presence of mercury in the Ganga river in Varanasi city. According to the study, annual mean concentration of mercury in the river water was 0.00023 ppm. The concentration ranged from NT (not traceable) to 0.00191 ppm. . As Ganga enters the Varanasi city, Hinduism’s sacred river contains 60,000 faecal coliform bacteria per 100 millilitres, 120 times more than is considered safe for bathing.

7. According to World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) five rivers in Asia serving over 870 million people are among the most threatened in the world, as dams, water extraction and climate change all take their toll. The Ganges, Indus, Yangtze, Salween-Nu and Mekong- Lancang rivers make up half of the WWF’s “top ten” most threatened river basins. The Ganga river carries the highest silt load of any river in the world and the deposition of this material in the delta region results in the largest river delta in the world (400 km from north to south and 320 km from east to west). Spiritual dip in holy Ganga at Kumbh is not clean. The level of the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels - used to measure of the level of organic pollution in the water - had increased to 7.4 milligram per litre at the main bathing place, known as Sangam , since the Kumbh started.

8. Kumbh Mela 2019: What’s happening to all the waste ? Kumbh Mela 2019 is being organised in Prayagraj , Uttar Pradesh from January 15, 2019 to March 31 2019 . Around ₹4200 crore will be allotted by the state government for the Ardh Kumbh 2019, over two times more than it had spent on the last Kumbh held in 2013 and revenue generated is about 1.2 lakh crore About 199 projects of 16 government departments are underway under four phases which includes a six-lane bridge over the river  Ganga  and a four-lane railway over-bridge worth ₹275 crore. Around 1.2 lakh toilets have been installed, 500 sanitation workers and 1,500 Swachhagrahis (volunteers) have been deployed at the site. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has been tasked to continuously monitor the water quality .

9. Contd.. According to New Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), the estimated amount of faecal matter produced during the 50 day-long Kumbh Mela is around 18 times more than what the district produces daily. Based on this, we can estimate that the faecal matter to be produced by around 10 crore tourists and pilgrims will be around 14,000 tonnes per day (assuming the maximum load on auspicious days). If we add the current population of Prayagraj to the estimated number of pilgrims, the amount of faecal matter produced in a day will increase to 15,000 tonnes.

10. Case study Agency /researcher Year Results Lakshminarayana 1965 most of the parameters decreased during rainy season while no marked variation was observed during winters and summers. Saxena et.al 1966 the biological oxygen demand, i.e. B.O.D. varied from 5.3ppm (minimum) in winter to 16.0ppm (maximum) in summer. The chloride ranged between 9.2 and 12.7 ppm and the river was found to be alkaline in nature except in rainy season. State Pollution Control Boards of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal 1981 According to this report sewage of 27 class I cities and towns and effluents from 137 major industries were the main source of pollution of the river. In addition cremation of ad human bodies and dumping of carcasses aggrevated the pollution of the river.

11. Kanpur-Varanasi-Allahabad : A Case Study

12. Kanpur-Varanasi-Allahabad Alone Uttar pradesh contribute 90% of ganga water pollution of which In the Kanpur-Varanasi stretch, 3,000 MLD of domestic wastewater is discharged into the river which is roughly half of its total load.

13. WATER QUALITY ASSESSMENT IN KANPUR- ALLAHABAD-VARANASI : ❏ Some of the statistics (taken from CPCB, POLLUTION ASSESSMENT : RIVER GANGA (JULY, 2013)) of the lower stretch of Uttar Pradesh i.e Kanpur-Allahabad- Varanasi are following :

14. Kanpur(U/S) Kanpur(D/S) Allahabad(D/S) Varanasi(U/S) Varanasi(D/S) m in . 6 4 6 7 .5 7 m ean 8 .6 6 .9 7 .2 7 .6 7 .1 m a x . 1 2 .8 1 1 .5 9 .4 7 .8 7 .2 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 D O ( M G /L) m in . m ean m a x . Standard : Drinking Water : 6 mg/L or more Outdoor Bathing: 5 mg/L or more

15. 12 B O D m in . m ean m a x . Drinking Water : 2 mg/L or less Outdoor Bathing: 3 mg/L or less 10 8 6 4 2 Kanpur(U/S) Kanpur(D/S) Allahabad(D/S) Varanasi(U/S) Varanasi(D/S) m in. 3 6.6 2.8 3.7 5.2 m ean 4.3 8.4 4 3.9 8 m a x . 5.5 9.6 5.6 4.2 9.6 Standard :

16. 3 0000 TOTAL COLIFORM (MPN/100 ML) m in . m ean m a x . Standard : Drinking Water : 50 MPN/100 mL Outdoor Bathing: 500 MPN/100 mL 2 5 0000 2 0000 1 5 0000 1 0000 5 000 Kanpur(U/S) Kanpur(D/S) Allahabad(D/S) Varanasi(U/S) Varanasi(D/S) m in. 1100 23000 6000 13000 46000 m ean 31992 151333 8583 13000 58000 m a x . 150000 240000 14000 13000 7000

17. Cleaning Efforts … So far ..!! Ganga Action Plan The National Ganga River Basin Authority (NRBA) Save Ganga Movement Role of Major Activists Namami Ganga

18. Ganga Action Plan launched in April 1986 in order to reduce the pollution load on the river. But the efforts to decrease the pollution level in the river became more. Therefore, this plan was withdrawn on 31 March 2000, after spending Rs 901.71 Crore . Million litres of sewage was targeted to be intercepted, diverted and treated. Phase-II of the program was approved in stages from 1993 onwards, and included the following tributaries of the Ganges: Yamuna, Gomti, Damodar and Mahananda.

19. Major Activists Acharya Jitendra National General Secretary of Ganga Mahasabha put a lot of efforts to abandon all state hydro-dam projects. Nigmanand - fasted unto death, protesting against illegal mining happening in the district of Haridwar (in Uttarakhand) resulting in pollution. Prof. G.D. Agrawal protested the building of dams in the Upper course of Ganges Manmohan Singh admitted publicly to cease any further hydroelectric damming of the Ganga in Uttarkhand.

20. Namami Ganga In July 2014, the Government of India announced an integrated Ganga development project titled “Namami Gange” launched by NDA Government and a sum of INR 2,037 Cr set aside for this purpose . A sum of INR 100 Cr allocated for developments of Ghats and beautification of River Fronts at Kedarnath, Haridwar, Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Patna and Delhi in the current financial year . The interventions at Ghats and River fronts will facilitate better citizen connect and set the tone for river centric urban planning process.

21. ‘Namami Gange’ – Holistic approach contd. Duration: 5 Years 2015-16 to 2019-20 Cost ( 2015-16 to 2019-20): ₹20,000 crores Includes ongoing projects and new initiatives Four-fold increase over the expenditure in the past 30 years Primary focus on pollution abatement Moving from ‘River Cleaning ’ to ‘River Rejuvenation ’ Municipal Sewage Management River Surface Cleaning Industrial Pollution Rural Sanitation Water Quality Monitoring Biodiversity Conservation Connecting People with River Aviral Ganga Crematoria

22. Efforts initiated under Namami Gange River Front Development 100% sewerage treatment infrastructure for 118 Towns River Surface Cleaning Massive Afforestation Drive Treatment of drains Strict enforcement for Industrial pollution Improved wood-based crematoria

23. Meeting the challenge: opportunities Problem flagged at appropriate time River Ganga is still a living river (Dissolved Oxygen meets the standard at majority of the segments) Rejuvenation efforts initiated with launch of ‘ Namami Gange ’ Existing Institutions River Ganga declared as ‘National River’ Prime Minister announced ‘ Namami Gange ’ Program Sharing of international experience National Commitment and Priority National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) – an apex level Authority chaired by Hon’ble PM of India National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) – implementing body of NGRBA State Program Management Group (SPMGs) – in all 5 basin states Successful experience of international rivers such as Rhine, Danube, Thames, Murray-Darling, etc. provides learning for Ganga Rejuvenation

24. National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA ) The Central Government has set up the ‘National Ganga River Basin Authority’ (NGRBA) vide gazette notification dated 20.2.2009 as a collaborative institution of Central and State Governments under the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986 for abatement of pollution of River Ganga. The objective of the authority is to ensure effective abatement of pollution and conservation of the river Ganga by adopting a holistic approach with the river basin as the unit of planning.

25. Activities under different Projects running by NGRBA Project. Funding Agency Project Duration Total Budget ( Rs Crores) Status Pollution Inventorization , Assessment and Surveillance on River Ganga (PIAS) MoWR , RD & GR 3 Years 42.99 Newly sanctioned Started from 29.09.2017 to be ended upto28.09.2020 Water Quality Monitoring (WQM) System for River Ganga The World Bank 7 Years 94.45 Sanctioned on 19th July, 2013 Strengthening of Environmental Regulators (SER)- CPCB The World Bank 8 Years 69.26 Sanctioned on 19th July, 2013 Pollution Inventorization , Assessment and Surveillance on River Ganga (PIAS) MoEF & CC 5 Years 34.77 Started from 1st April, 2011, ended on 28.03.2016

26. Ganga river water unfit for direct drinking, bathing: CPCB report A map released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB ) on 30 th may,2019 shows high level of coliform bacteria in the river. Only 18 spots have been found to be fit for bathing The six spots which were found fit for consumption under class A- fit for drinking after disinfection- are Bhagirathi at Gangotri , Rudraprayag , Devprayag , Raiwala - Uttarakhand , Rishikesh , Bijnor and Diamond Harbour in West Bengal On the banks of river Ganga, there are over 1100 industrial units which discharge their waste into the river. Today, not a single industry is discharging black waste in the river. That is the level to which we have brought it," Union Environment Secretary C K Mishra said. Mishra also said that the situation was not a "happy" Sewage is a big issue. Work is going on and it will take a little while

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