Green panel directs National Mission for Clean Ganga to install display boards at a gap of 100 km, indicating whether water is fit for bathing or drinking.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday expressed concern at the level of pollution in the Ganga, between Haridwar and Unnao in Uttar Pradesh, and said “the water is unfit for drinking and bathing”.
A Bench, headed by NGT Chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel, directed the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) to install display boards at a gap of 100 kilometres, indicating whether the water is fit for drinking and bathing, to make devotees aware of the level of pollution. “Innocent persons are drinking and bathing in the Ganga out of reverence and respect. They don’t know that it may be dangerous to their health. If cigarette packets can contain a warning saying it is ‘injurious to health,’ why not the people be informed of the adverse effects [of the river water]” the Bench said.
Right to life
Further, it added, “It is of utmost necessity to comply with the right to life of persons using Ganga water, and that they are put to notice about the fitness of water.”
Meanwhile, the Central Pollution Control Board and the NMCG have been asked to indicate, on their websites, the areas where the water is good for bathing and drinking.
