Ganga still polluted

When the entire world is gearing up to welcome the New Year once again making new resolutions, the stream of holy Ganga would perhaps remain polluted washing the sins of mankind. Despite the investment of crores of rupees for cleaning the river millions of litres of wastewater is still polluting the Ganga unabatedly. The stretch from Kanpur to Varanasi is defined as the middle range of the Ganga, and this reach has two very important pilgrimage places -Allahabad and Varanasi. And the direct discharge of raw sewage into Ganga is believed to be the major factor behind the increasing pollution level in the middle reach of Ganga between Varanasi and Kanpur. Alone in Varanasi about over 250 MLD sewage is generated while the installed capacity of the sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the city is only 102 MLD.“In view of public health as well as cultural and environmental reasons it could be said that this middle reach would finally decide the success or failure of the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) launched by the government to clean the river,” said Prof. Veer Bhadra Mishra, the president of Sankat Mochan Foundation (SMF), an organisation working for the cause of Ganga for last 25 years. He said that the river as well as people were facing serious problem of water pollution mainly due to point sources discharging sewage and other pollutants directly into river. Mishra claimed that the SMF had full knowledge about the number and locations of the point sources in Varanasi, Allahabad and Kanpur whereas the government’s agency had no data in this regard. The SMF collected data in Varanasi, Allahabad and Kanpur observing all point sources in these cities with the global positioning system (GPS) with the help of National Remote Sensing Agency, Hyderabad. According to collected data, there are 33 point sources of sewage discharge into the river in Varanasi while this number is 41 in Kanpur. Allahabad has the highest number of such sources including 40 drains discharging into Ganga, 14 drains discharging into Yamuna and eight drains discharging into Ganga in Jhoosi area.Even the the Public Account Committee (2003-2004) headed by Sardar Buta Singh was not satisfied with the operation of GAP. “The Committee are concerned to observe that GAP even after more than 18 years of its operation, is still in its trial and error exercise which invariably suggest that the GAP has been formulated without proper assessment of actual ground realities,” observed the committee, which presented the report to Lok Sabha in February 2004. For immediate reduction of pollution load on the river Ganga was prepared by the Department of Environment (now Ministry of Environment & Forests) in December 1984 on the basis of a survey on Ganga basin carried out by the Central Pollution Control Board in 1984. To oversee the implementation of the GAP and lay down policies and programmes, the central government constituted the Central Ganga Authority (CGA) under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister in February 1985. It has been renamed as the National River Conservation Authority (NRCA) in September 1995. The Cabinet approved GAP in April 1985 as a hundred per cent centrally sponsored scheme. The GAP was thus launched in June 1985 with the establishment of the Ganga Project Directorate (GPD), renamed as the NRCD (National River Conservation Directorate) in June 1994, as a wing of the Department of Environment, to execute the projects under the guidance and supervision of the CGA. At the time of launching, the main objective of GAP was to improve the water quality of the Ganga to acceptable standards by preventing the pollution load reaching the river. The objective of GAP was, however, recast in June 1987 as restoring the river water quality to the “Bathing class’ standard. It means there should be Dissolved Oxygen (DO) not less than 5 mg/litre, Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) not more than 3 mg/litre, Bacterial Load/Coliform Count not more than 10,000 per ml, Faecal Coliform not more than 2,500 per 100 ml, and pH value 6.5 to 8.5.But, the Committee also observed that no adequate attention was being given to the urgency that had been demanded by GAP, thereby compromising the health of about 40 per cent of population of India living in the Ganga Basin. As a matter of fact, a study by a team of environmentalist from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and India have, in a World Bank sponsored study, concluded that in spite of the massive Rs. 1500 crore plan launched in the 80s to clean up the Ganga, the pollution levels in the mighty river continue to be alarmingly high and are contributing to about 9 to 12 per cent of the total disease burden in Uttar Pradesh.

Eco-village

When the terms like ‘global warming’ and ‘environmental pollution’ are puzzling the human minds across the globe, a silent process to protect the ecosystem is on in this oldest living city of the world, though it is small and in nascent stage. A recently developed organisation -Bal Ashram (children’s ashram), run by Aghor Guru Seva Peeth, on the bank on Ganga in Samene Ghat area, has evolved a programme to develop an ‘Eco-village’ on the opposite bank of Ganga for which land is being procured. The Eco-village programme will raise awareness in this ancient sacred city now beset by many urban problems about recycling, renewable energy, sustainable farming and traditional Indian (ayurvedic) herbal medicines. “There is a vision of making Bal Ashram and its Eco-village a model that can be copied not only in India but also anywhere in the world,” said Baba Harihar Ramji, one of the followers of Aghoreshwar Bhagwan Ram. “We have procured some land on the other side of Ganga and we are planning to have some more land for this purpose so that a green belt can be developed along the river with active participation of local populace,” said Harihar Ramji, who runs the Bal Ashram for orphans. And, a group of foreigners is also interested in this venture of developing the eco-village and green belt along the river. “It is an effort to connect the people with the environment,” said Richard E Sclove, a US national who runs a non-governmental organisation in his country. Being overwhelmed with the serene beauty of Ganga, he was very enthusiastic about the development of eco-friendly venture on its babk. His attachment with nature could be viewed in his visiting card displaying the view of rising sun above the flowing Ganga. Like him other Americans including Paul Rozer and Peter Moras, who recently made a visit to the ashram, also showed their concern over the shrinking greenery and other gifts of nature. “By developing eco-village we also intend to preserve the rare ‘jari-buti’ (medicinal plants), which are at the verge of extinction,” said Harihar Ramji, who also has an ashram in Sonoma, California (US). He said that the local people would be encouraged to join such ventures for the survival of humanity. The Bal Ashram, developed in 2000, is not only an orphanage but also a loving home for the children without parents. “The objectives of the ashram as a whole remain the same as Aghoreshwar Baba Bhagwan Ramji had envisioned for all his Ashrams in India and abroad”, he said adding that presently 18 children were being looked after at the ashram.

Mayawati's Ganga Expressway

Ganga Expressway

The chief minister Mayawati for her ambitious Rs. 40,000 crore Ganga Expressway project is going to face strong opposition not only from her political rivals but also from a section of river scientists and experts.
A serious discussion among the civil engineers and professors on this issue is on at the Ganga Laboratory of the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (BHU). In pure scientific and technical terms they are studying the contents of the project the chief minister had announced in the first week of September. Point wise assessment of the project is being done, and it would be forwarded to the chief minister and other concerned authorities for re-evaluation in light of technical facts.
“How is it being claimed that the proposed expressway would control the flood,” questioned Prof. UK Chaudhary, the head of Ganga Laboratory. Describing the project as rubbish, he further questioned about the technical know-how being applied in it. “The flood is beyond the controlling limit of any embankment. An embankment cannot control the flood rather it minimises the flood fury at one point by increasing at another point,” he claimed and added, “I just want to know from the technical experts of the chief minister how the flood would be mitigated by the expressway’s embankment”.
It may be mentioned here that according to the CM’s plan ‘The expressway would be constructed by building flood control embankments on river Ganga. This multipurpose and ambitious project would benefit entrepreneurs, traders, citizens and people of the rural areas among others. It would ensure rapid development of the backward areas situated on the left bank of river Ganga”. It has been mentioned in the project that it would have dual benefits as it would ensure smooth transport facilities on one hand, while on the other it would stop erosion of land and save lakhs of hectares of cultivable land. A large number of people residing in villages situated on the banks of river Ganga and facing the fury of floods year after year would be the biggest beneficiaries of this project. This expressway will be constructed on the proposed marginal embankment of the state irrigation department to be built for controlling floods on the left bank of river Ganga. The proposed eight-lane 1000-km long and 100 -meter wide expressway would originate from Ballia and pass through Varanasi, Allahabad, Pratapgarh, Unnao, Shahjahanpur, Badaun, Bulandshahr and link NOIDA with eastern UP. The embankment will be 7-8 meter high. The entire project will be in the kachhar areas of Ganga river, and it would be 1.5 kms. away from the river water flow.
“The magnitude of the earthwork for the 7-8 meter high embankment in 1000-km length could be understand with the fact that it would require a 700-800 meter wide strip of land (fertile land),” said Chaudhary adding that only the acquisition of such a vast stretch of land may consume the entire cost of the project. Besides, the quantum of agricultural loss should also be taken in consideration while taking up this project because almost whole stretch of land is fertile, he said. “It is only few aspects related to construction, while the fact is that there are infinite number of problems in this project,” said Chaudhary, who was busy in discussing the project with his two colleagues PK Maitie and SK Gupta both from the department of civil engineering (hydraulic) of IT-BHU. “The other dangerous aspect is that it may affect the river adversely due to simultaneous occurrence of erosion and sedimentation and enhancement of meandering of the river,” he said and added that it is the groundwater not the surface water that maintains the flow of a river. “And any change in groundwater directly affects the river system,” he added. He also wants to initiate a purposeful debate on the issue in the interest of people as well as state. Chaudhary is also busy in documenting his points with proper scientific explanations to send to the chief minister. “Whatever be the planners’ logic for preparing this project but I am sure that it is good for nothing,” he said. On the other hand, the political parties including Bharatiya Janata Party, Samajwadi Parti, Congress and political stalwarts like former Prime Minister VP Singh had already threatened to launch intensified movements against the proposed expressway.
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