GANGA RIVER POLLUTION

Hisham Ajmal PC, S8CA-NO:30

hishamajmalpc@gmail.com
Introducton
The Ganga is a trans-boundary river (a river that crosses at least one political border)of India and
Bangladesh. The 2,525km river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and
flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into
the Bay of Bengal. It is the third largest river in the World by discharge.Along its banks are some of the
world's oldest inhabited places like Varanasi and Patna.It has also been important historically: many
former provincial or imperial capitals have been located on its banks. It provides water to about 40% of
India's population in 11 states,an estimated of 500 million people or more,which is larger than any
other river in the world. The Ganges is the most sacred river to Hindus and is also a lifeline to millions
of Indians who live along its course and depend on it for their daily needs.It is worshipped as the
goddess Ganga in Hinduism.

The Ganges was ranked as the fifth most polluted river of the world in 2007,Pollution threatens not
only humans, but also more than 140 fish species, 90 amphibian species and the endangered Ganges
river dolphin. The Ganga Action Plan, an environmental initiative to clean up the river, has been a
major failure thus far,due to corruption and lack of technical expertise,lack of good environmental
planning,and lack of support from religious authorities.Twenty-five big cities located along its bank
generated 1,340 mid sewage over 95 per cent of the same entered the river without being treated prior
to the Ganga Action Plan (GAP). Out of the total length of the river (2,525 km) for Gangotri to
Gangasagar about 600 km long stretch is highly polluted.
Causes
This pollution is due to the dumping of city garbage, industrial effluents, human and animal excreta,
agricultural wastes, pesticides, burning of human bodies, community bathing and faulty social and
religious practices. According to an estimate about 19,659 tons of polluted matters enter the river every
year of which 55.4 per cent is contributed by Uttar Pradesh and 18.8 per cent by West Bengal .
According to a study of the Central Board for Preservation and Control of Water Pollution the long
stretches of the Ganga near Kanpur and Varanasi are unsuitable for any beneficial human use. The
water quality is generally good ('B' type) up to Bithoor, except near the city of Kannauj where polluted
water from the Kali river and city sewage combine to exceed the assimilation capacity of the river.
At Kanpur due to heavy influx of industrial waste and city sewage the quality drops down to 'D' and 'E',
so as to reach 'B' (November-March) and 'C' (April- October) category near Allahabad. Again as the
Ganga-reaches Varanasi it almost recovers its deficiency to reach 'B', but heavy pollution through city
drains reduces the quality to 'D' and 'E' categories making it unfit for human use (Northern India
Patrika, Feb. 1, 1982).
At Haridwar although the Ganga is considered to be the least polluted but the pollution starts from
Rishikesh itself where industrial wastes from Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) have polluted
the water. The disposal of industrial wastes from the Indian Drug Production Ltd. (IDPL) adds to the
problem. About 15 large and small sewage drains discharge about 42 mid municipal sewage into the
river. Community bathing discharges milk pots bunches of flowers and leaves etc. into the river.
Pollution gets accentuated sharply during Kumbh (every 12 years) when up to 5 million devotees descend on the small town to bathe in the holy river. Most of the river water is drained out to irrigation
canals at Haridwar which also reduces the pollution absorbing capacity of the river.
At Kanpur the story of the Ganga becomes more pathetic. Here more than 200 million liters of waste

water is discharged daily into the river through 16 major drains. Chromium-rich from about 300
tanneries pose a serious problem. Besides tanneries, industrial wastes from cotton and woolen textile
mills, jute mills, distilleries, sugar mills, paper and pulp mills and factories manufacturing synthetic
chemicals like D.D.T., pesticides etc. are discharged into the Ganga.
According to Kumra (1982) per liter of Ganga water near Kanpur contains 66.3 to 173.0 mg of solids,
9.33 to 17.37 mg of chloride concentration, 3.05 to 5.5 mg of dissolved oxygen (DO), 2.86 to 30.33 mg
of biological oxygen demand (BOD), and 0.66 to 89.14 mg of chemical oxygen demand (COD).
Adding to the woes is the low volume of water in the river during the eight non-monsoon months due
to large scale transfer of water into irrigation canals at Haridwar and Narora. Power shortage and power
failure impede the work of sewer treatment plants.
At Allahabad, the famous centre of Hindu pilgrimage, 13 drains discharge 112 mid of sewage into
Ganga and its tributary Yamuna which contains 32,164 kg of polluted material. According to the
chemical analysis made by Ganga Pollution Control Unit, Allahabad per liter of river water contains
155 to 469 mg of suspended solids, 56 to 156 mg of volatile solids, 740 to 1145 mg of dissolved solids,
14 to 18 mg of sulphates, 4 to 6 mg of phosphate, 208 to 480 mg of COD, 136 to 340 mg of BOD and
428 to 688 of CaC03. Besides, the civic wastes from the city industrial effluents from Naini industrial
area and Phulpur fertilizer factory are also discharged into the river.
The annual Magli Mela and its 6-year and 12-year Kumbha Mela bring millions of devotees to the
sacred confluence for holy bath many of which reside for a month in temporary Kumbha city. The
community bathing not only degrades the water quality but the temporary camps produce large quantity
of human excreta (about 250 tons/day on normal days and about 10,800 tons/day on main bathing days)
which is dumped into the sand to be washed away during rainy season. The existing sewage treatment
plants at Gaughat and Rajapur are not able to cope with the situation.
At Yaranasi the Ganga water becomes highly polluted where 71 large and small sewer drains discharge
about 15 million gallons of effluents per day into the river. A problem peculiar to the city arises from
the Hindu belief that the dead cremated here attain moksha (salvation). This results into cremation of
about 40,000 dead bodies (50% brought from outside) at Manikarnika and Harishchandra burning ghats
every year utilising about 15,000 tons of fire wood and throwing out huge quantity of ash, unburnt
wood and flesh into the river.

Ganga at Varanasi
Safe drinking water and sanitation services are common issues in most rapidly growing developing
cities. Varanasi is no exception; however, the situation in Varanasi is different compared to the ones of
other cities at a similar development stage. Varanasis water supply is highly dependent on the Ganga,
which is considered to be sacred and purifying by the Hindus. Immersion and ablution in its water are
daily procedures for the inhabitants as well for the numerous pilgrims. Every day, around 60,000
people take a holy dip in the Ganga in Varanasi. Furthermore, religious practices, such as burning of
corpses, aggravate the pollution of the river. This extreme focus of daily life along the river makes
Varanasis water situation more unique but also more urgent than in other cities .
During the last century the city spread in a rather unplanned way. The lack of a strong coordinating
body resulted in serious deficits in the field of large infrastructures such as drainage and sewerage
systems. Consequently, the capacity of the old sewers exceeded and the citys sewage and industrial
waste flow into the Ganga, polluting the river heavily. Today, the largest part of the sewage, industrial
effluent, run-off from chemical fertilizers and pesticides used in agriculture and huge quantities of solid
waste are dumped in the Ganga untreated. Even thousands of animal carcasses and hundreds of human
corpses are thrown into the river every day contributing to the pollution . The problem of pollution is
further intensified by over-extraction and diversion of the river water.
The pollution of the Ganga presents a severe health hazard,in particular for those who bathe in the river

and drink its water. In 2005,it was found out that the Ganga water pollution has a very significant effect
on occurrence of enteric diseases(Enteric diseases are infections caused by viruses and bacteria that enter the
body through the mouth or intestinal system, primarily as a result of eating, drinking and digesting contaminated
foods or liquids)in Varanasi city. In particular the concentration of Nitrate, Chloride and Faecal coliforms

in the river water has a major effect on water-borne diseases. Also studies indicates that the drinking
water may cause enteric diseases even if the raw Ganga water is treated properly. One possible
explanation is that contamination could take place due to seepage of old supply pipelines.

The wood requirement alone leads to the depletion of 1 15 hectares of forests every year besides raising
water temperature by 30 to 50C and reducing the dissolved oxygen by 30 to 50 per cent. This causes
deaths of about 134 children every year (Singh 2004, p.445). A number of dead bodies of human beings
and animals are straight way thrown into the river.The community bathing, practice of offering flowers
and milk, burying human remains and washing clothes aggravate the problem. Consequently the city of
Varanasi contributes about one-fourth of the State's pollutants to the Ganga. Its 400-km sewage system
has remained chocked since 1920.
In Bihar the capital city of Patna throws out 100 mid of waste water into the Ganga. The Bata Shoe
factory and Mc Dowel Distillery at Mokama discharge 250,000 liters of toxic effluents/every day into
Ganga which have adverse effect on the marine life. Fishes die within 5 hours at the site of outfall of
drains of Mc Dowel factory. The chemical wastes from the oil refinery of Barauni further worsen the
situation. It has led to worse fire killing a number of aquatic organisms.
At Kolkata more than 100 million gallons of urban industrial polluted water is discharged into the

Hugli or Bhagirathi River. A 5-km stretch of the river between Bicholi Ghat and Garden Reach has become the worst polluted section. People often complain stomach trouble, kidney damage, skin diseases,
and polio, typhoid, jaundice owing to the drinking of polluted water. About 1,500 human deaths were
reported from the city due to the use of polluted water.
The Hugli (Distributary of Ganga) has a peculiar river mechanism under which tide reaches 290 km
away from the river mouth upto Nabadwip. This phenomenon adversely affects the dilution process of
the pollutants. Most of the towns along the Hugli River neither have proper drainage system nor
sewage treatment plants, and those that do, have outdated equipment.
Ganges River Dolphin
The Ganges River Dolphin India's national aquatic animal , which used to exist in large schools near
to urban centres in both the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, is now seriously threatened by pollution
and dam construction. Their numbers have now dwindled to a quarter of their numbers of fifteen years
before, and they have become extinct in the Ganges's main tributaries.A recent survey by theWorld
Wildlife Fund found only 3,000 left in the water catchment of both river systems.The Ganges river
dolphin is one of only four freshwater dolphins in the world. The other three are the baiji(Lipotes
vexillifer) of the Yangtze River in China, now likely extinct, the bhulan of the Indus River in Pakistan,
and the boto of the Amazon River in Brazil. There are several marine dolphines whose ranges include
some freshwater habitats, but these four are the only dolphins who live only in freshwater rivers and
lakes.

Water shortages
Along with ever-increasing pollution, water shortages are getting noticeably worse. Some sections of
the river are already completely dry. Around Varanasi the river once had an average depth of 60 meters
(200ft), but in some places it is now only 10 meters.
Illegal mining and stone-crushing in the river bed
Illegal mining in the Ganges river bed for stones and sand for construction work has been a long
problem in Haridwar district, Uttarakhand, where it touches the plains for the first time. This is despite
the fact that quarrying has been banned in Kumbh Mela area zone covering 140km2 area in
Haridwar.On 14 June,Swami Nigamanada, a 34-year-old monk who was fasting since 19 February
2011 against illegal mining and stone crushing along the Ganges near Haridwar, died at the Himalayan
Hospital in Jollygrant in Dehradun, after prolonged coma in the hospital's intensive care unit.His death
put a spotlight on the activity and resulted in the intervention of the Union Environment minister.

Control Measures
Many efforts to clean-up the holy Ganga were undertaken during the last decades. The most
comprehensive was The Ganga Action Plan (GAP). The GAP was an ambitious program, prepared by
the Department of Environment and approved by the Cabinet in 1985, in order to reduce the pollution
of the Ganga. It was launched at Varanasi in June 1986. The objectives of the GAP were to abate
pollution and to improve the river water quality by interception, diversion and treatment of domestic
sewage and control of non-point, non-measurable pollution from human defecation, dumping of dead
bodies etc.. To achieve these objectives the GAP took up core and non-core schemes. Actions addressed
to major, direct causes of pollution were identified as core sector schemes, consisting of interception,
and diversion schemes of domestic wastewater and sewage treatment plants. Non-core sector schemes
consisted of actions such as implementation of low cost sanitation systems, installation of crematoria
and riverfront development. In Varanasi five sewage pumps were installed to intercept sewage flowing
into the Ganga from 30 point sources.
The government argued that the GAP was successful in Varanasi but the Sankat Mochan Foundation, a
local NGO focusing on the pollution of the Ganga,could show that during power cuts and the flood
season the sewage pumps do not work and that the total sewage of Varanasi passes into the river
untreated . From 1993 the GAP I was extended as GAP II covering four major tributaries of the
Ganga.The Ganga Action Plan is commonly seen as a complete failure. While the government and
some studies claim that the water quality of the river has increased since the implementation of the
GAP, other scientists argue that the Ganga today is more polluted than when the GAP was first initiated
in 1986.In 1986 about 147 mld (million litres per day) of untreated sewage and waste produced in
Varanasi flowed into the Ganga, in 2004 it was over 200 mld. Nevertheless, there are disagreements
about the exact achievements of the Ganga Action Plan there is a consensus on the fact that the Ganga
is still highly polluted.

(Charts:Central Pollution Control Board)

Spiritual bathing in Ganges

Gnga Dolphin

Waste disposed in Ganga