Nelanshu ShuklaShivendra SrivastavaLucknowApril 22, 2020UPDATED: April 22, 2020 01:00 IST
The nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19 has done wonders for the purity of water in River Ganga. According to scientists, in certain sections of the holy river the water is clean enough to drink!
Amid the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak, the water quality of river Ganga at Har-ki-Pauri in the holy city of Haridwar has been classified as ‘fit for drinking’, an unprecedented success which the ambitious schemes of the government could not do for years even after pumping thousands of crores.
Speaking to India Today TV, environmental scientist and professor BD Joshi said “The remarkable level of purity is due to the absence of any industrial pollutants and garbage. It is after a long time the water quality of the Ganga river has become good for ritual sipping (achaman). In some stretches, the water has also become fit for drinking after its quality has been tested at different parameters. Such a remarkable improvement has not been witnessed in the past 30-40 years.”
“Hundreds of people used to come to take a holy dip in Haridwar every day and during the auspicious days, the numbers used to swell to thousands. Since the lockdown has come into effect people cannot come here. The other factor for improvement in the water quality is the melting snow which is merging into the river,” he added.
Meanwhile, according to the Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Board, there has been a 34 per cent reduction in faecal coliform and 20 per cent in biochemical oxygen demand in Haridwar.
The water quality of the Ganga river in Uttar Pradesh has also seemingly improved.
According to the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), healthy water should have a dissolved oxygen level of at least 7 mg/litre. The dissolved oxygen level upstream in river Ganga is 8.9 mg per litre while in the downstream it is 8.3 mg per litre. This clearly shows that water quality has improved significantly and is optimal for bathing.
In Kanpur as well, the Ganga has become cleaner since the lockdown has come into effect.
Speaking to India Today TV, priest of famous Parmat temple in Kanpur, Ajay Pujari said, “The major cause of water pollution in Kanpur is the toxic industrial waste which is discharged into the river. Since all the factories are closed due to the lockdown, the Ganga river has become cleaner. The priests at the temple earlier used to refrain from taking a holy dip because the water was highly contaminated. However, since the past week, we are bathing in the river.”
“The Sisamau drain which used to discharged millions of litres of dirty water into the river was completely stopped last year under the Namami Gange project. This has also brought down the water pollution but the improvement we can witness at present is unprecedented. The lockdown has certainly improved the health of River Ganga which many projects of the government couldn’t do,” said the temple priest.
