THE HOLY POLLUTION IN INDIA SUBJECT - ENVIROMENTAL STUDIES

2. INTRODUCTION :
 Around 80% of Indias water is severely polluted because people dump raw
sewage, silt and garbage into the countrys rivers and lakes. This has led to water
being undrinkable and the population having to rely on illegal and expensive
sources. Each year, more than 1.5 million Indian children die from diarrhea.
 Ganga has length (km) of 2525 with area of 1.08 million sq.km which originates
from Gangotri in Uttrakhand. Yamuna (Jamuna) has length of 1376 with area of
366223 sq.km which originates from yamunotri in garhwall. kaveri has length of
765 with area of 81155 sq.km which originates from Brahmagiri hills in kogadu,
Karnataka. Narmada has length of 1312 with area of 98,796 sq.km which
originates from Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh

3. What is the pollution at holy places in India?
 Followers of the Hindu way of life have forgotten
the emphasis that is laid on nature, the environment
and the ecology. The social and spiritual tenets of
Hinduism have been completely replaced by a
convenience-driven attitude whereby Deepawali,
festival of lights, becomes an ugly nightmare of
noise and noxious smoke. Holi, festival of the colours
of spring, has degenerated into an orgy of
dangerous chemicals. How long can Hindus keep
poisoning the Ganga and then take a dip in the same
holy river to wash away their Sins.

4. What is the pollution at holy places in India?
 India is a land of rivers. From Ganga in the north
to Pampa in the south ,From Narmada in the west
to Brahmaputra in the East , India has a huge
network of river . Beside Geographical
values,these rivers are of religious importance as
well for India.Whether its chhath Puja of
Northern Region or its last ritual of a hindu
individual, or its end of any festival of Hindu
where idol worship is there,rivers are always
abused in the form of dumping Human wastes in
some form . These wastes can be idol of a hindu
God/Goddess or dumping clothes by pilgrims
in return path of Sabarimala.

5. What is the pollution at holy places in India?
 In a recent order from Kerala High court ,
the practice of throwing clothes in River
Pampa while Pilgrims return from
Sabarimala is a criminal offence and is
subjected to prosecution. Inspite of the HC
order the poeple continue the traditional
practice thus making River Pampa , a
garbage bin of used clothes, hence
populating the river water and disturbing
the river ecosystem.
 River Pampa is just one example out of
countless such acts/religious practice
where pilgrimages played a key role in
Water pollution.

6. Ganga – An Introduction :
 The Ganges rises in the southern Great Himalayas on the Indian side of the
border with the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Its five headstreams—the
Bhagirathi, the Alaknanda, the Mandakini, the Dhauliganga, and the
Pindar—all rise in the mountainous region of northern Uttarakhand state.
Of those, the two main headstreams are the Alaknanda (the longer of the two),
which rises about 30 miles (50 km) north of the Himalayan peak of Nanda
Devi, and the Bhagirathi, which originates at about 10,000 feet (3,000 metres)
above sea level in a subglacial meltwater cave at the base of the Himalayan glacier
known as Gangotri. Gangotri itself is a sacred place for Hindu pilgrimage. The
true source of the Ganges, however, is considered to be at Gaumukh, about 13
miles (21 km) southeast of Gangotri.

7. Ganga – An Introduction :

8. Silent Features of River Ganga :
Total Length 2525 kms
Uttarakhand 450 kms
Uttar Pradesh 1000 kms
Sharing length between UP & Bihar 110 kms
Bihar 405 kms
Jharkhand 40 kms

9. Silent Features of River Ganga :
West Bengal 520 kms
Catchment Area Ganga Basin 8,61,404 sq km (26.4%) of India
Average Annual discharge 4,93,400 million cubic meter
Main Tributaries Yamuna, Ramganga, Gomti, Ghaghara,
Gandak, Damodar, Kosi & Kali-East
Main sub tributaries Chambal, Sindh, Betwa, Ken, Tons
(beyond Five States), Sone & Kasia-Haldi
Major Cities located on the bank Srinagar, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Roorkee
(in Uttarakhand), Bijnor, Narora, Kanauj,
Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Mirzapur
(In
Uttar Pradesh), Patna, Bhagalpur

10. Source of Pollution :
 Industrial drains
 City drains
 Religion touristic activity
 Construction activites along the coast of this
river.
 Agriculture auto flow
 Domestic activities like those of washer men.
 Cremation related ritual.

11. Industries as a main source pollution of ganga
 According to data out of industries are along
the river ganga between Rishikesh and
Prayagraj . In this 146 , 144 is present in U.P.
and 2 in Uttrakhand
 A major pollution industries on the ganga are
the leather industries near Kanpur .
 Other industries like Tanning industry
pharmaceutical companies electronic plant
9 textile and paper industries , fertilizers
discharge , different types of chemical and
organic effluent into river.

12. PRESENT STATE OF GANGA RIVER :
 At the time the holy Ganga river become polluted .
 There are over 29 cites , 70 towns and thousands of villages along the
GANGA bank .
 The Ganga was ranked among the five most polluted river's of the world in
2007 .
 It is found in research's the FAECAL COLIFORM levels in the river near
Varanasi more than 100 times then official Indian government limit .

13. Alarming facts :
 By 2007 the Ganges River had become the 5th most polluted river in the world, but
attempts to improve its water quality have failed for the most part.
 The pollution in the Ganges River threatens more than 90 amphibian species, more than
140 fish species, and humans who rely on the river for water.
 The Ganges river dolphin and the Ganges river shark are both endangered because of
the massive pollution.
 There are many species of birds that live in India and cannot be found anywhere else
in the world. Many of these species rely on the Ganges River for survival.
 The soil in the Ganges River watershed is extremely fertile. Crops commonly grown in
the region include potatoes, wheat, lentils, oil seeds, rice, and sugarcane.

14. Alarming facts :
• The Ganges River is becoming shallower in some area. Some attribute this water
level change to climate change and global warming.
• The Ganges River system is fed from a variety of sources including the
Gangotri Glacier in the Himalayas, the July to September monsoon rains,
and cyclones.
• Studies have shown that the Ganges River is capable of decomposing organic
waste faster than any other rivers in the world - as much as 25 times faster.
• Something in the Ganges Rivers' water prevents mosquitos from breeding, and
when it is added to other water it prevents them from breeding in it as well.
• A test in the late 1800s found that the Cholera bacterium could not survive in
the Ganges River for more than three hours.

15. Kanpur – Varanasi – Allahabad : A case Study
 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 .

16. Kanpur – Varanasi – Allahabad :

17. Aquatic and human life in danger :
(1) Marine life
 The results of mercury analysis in various
specimens collected along the basin indicated
that some fish muscles tended to accumulate
high levels of mercury.
 Of it, approximately 50–84% was organic
mercury. A strong positive correlation
between mercury levels in muscle with food
habit and fish length was found.
 The Ganges river dolphin is one of few
species of fresh water dolphins in the world.
Listed as an endangered species, their
population is believed to be less than 2000.

18. (1) Marine life
 Hydroelectric and irrigation dams along the Ganges that prevents the dolphins
from travelling up and down river is the main reason for their reducing population.
 The Ganges softshell turtle (Nilssonia gangetica) is found in the Ganges, Indus, and
Mahanadi river systems of Pakistan, northern India, Bangladesh, and southern
Nepal.
 This turtle inhabits deep rivers, streams, large canals, lakes and ponds, with a bed
of mud or sand. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature,
freshwater turtle species are vulnerable.
 Due to their long lifespan and high trophic level in the aquatic food web, turtles are
vulnerable to heavy metals pollution, a major kind of pollution in the Ganges.

19. (2) Wildlife :
 Some of the dams being constructed along the
Ganges basin will submerge substantial areas of
nearby forest. For example, the Kotli-Bhel dam at
Devprayag will submerge 1200 hectares of forest,
wiping out the forest area and eventually the
wildlife.

20. (3) Human beings :
 An analysis of the Ganges water in 2006 and 2007
showed significant associations between water-
borne/enteric disease and the use of the river for
bathing, laundry, washing, eating, cleaning utensils,
and brushing teeth.
 Water in the Ganges has been correlated to contracting
dysentery, cholera, hepatitis, as well as severe
diarrhoea which continues to be one of the leading
causes of death of children in India.

21. (3) Human beings :
 During the summer and monsoon, hospital wards teem with children
who need treatment for waterborne diseases - but according to S.C. Singh,
a paediatrician at Varanasi Shiv Prasad Gupta Hospital, their parents
rarely mention that they have been swimming in the river. They don't
appear to have made the connection, he says.

22. Namami Gange Programme :
 Namami Gange Programme’, is an Integrated
Conservation Mission, approved as ‘Flagship
Programme’ by the Union Government in June
2014 with budget outlay of Rs.20,000 Crore to
accomplish the twin objectives of effective
abatement of pollution, conservation and
rejuvenation of National River Ganga.

23. Projects to Clean ganga :
 Sewerage treatment infrastructure
 River Surface Cleaning
 Afforestation
 Industrial effluent monitoring
 River front development
 Bio diversity
 Public awareness
 Ganga gram
Main pillars of the Namami Gange Programme :

24. Lockdown gift: Gleaming Ganga lays
new conservation roadmap
 “What could not be achieved in last 34
years since the inception of Ganga
Action Plan (GAP) in 1986, and the
launch of Namami Gange in 2014, with
hundreds of crores of rupees being
pumped in, is visible in just 34-35 days of
lockdown,” said Prof. B D Tripathi,
chairman of Mahamana Malaviya
Research Centre for Ganga, River
Development and Water Resource
Management, Banaras Hindu University
(BHU).

25. Lockdown gift: Gleaming Ganga lays
new conservation roadmap
 “It is true that the quality of Ganga water has
improved, but we can’t claim that the river is
100% free from pollution. In fact, just 25-30%
reduction in pollution level is being noticed".
 There has been a significant improvement in
health indicators of Ganga’s water — an
increase in dissolved oxygen (DO) and reduction
in biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) — during
lockdown.
 biochemical oxygen demand level indicates the
amount of decaying organic matter in water, a
low BOD indicating good quality, while low
dissolved oxygen level signifies poor quality. If
dissolved oxygen levels decline, aquatic life is
impacted badly.

26. Lockdown gift: Gleaming Ganga lays
new conservation roadmap
 “The name Varanasi has been derived
from the two tributaries Varuna and Asi,
which were contributing fresh water to
Ganga,” he said. “As most of the
activities that cause pollution are
stopped in lockdown, it is natural to see
improvement in quality of Ganga
water,” said Kalika Singh, regional
officer of Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control
Board. As per the present water quality
parameters, the river is fit for bathing.
 “The river itself has self-purifying
capacity if sufficient water flow is
maintained. We have seen this during
Prayagraj Kumbh mela".

27. Yamuna River Pollution :
 Domestic wastewater, industrial effluents, idol
immersion, pesticide residue, untreated sewage
are some of the sources of pollution of river
Yamuna.
 Most of the pollution occurs in the NCR stretch
than in other places where the river flows. Only
2% of the river length flows through Delhi yet
the city is responsible for about 76% of the
total pollution load in the river.

28. How does Delhi contribute to pollution?
 Around 90% of wastewater from households pours into the river
untreated. This wastewater comprises laundry detergents and other
chemicals increasing the phosphate content in the water leading to the
formation of froth.
 The same goes for industrial effluents and sewage that are discharged into
the river without being treated. Only 35% out of total estimated sewage
discharge undergoes treatment. Other factors like idol immersion also
contribute to pollution.

29. How does Delhi contribute to pollution?
 The lead, plaster of paris (POP) and chrome paints
used in making the idols also pollute the water after
they are immersed.
 Not only this, but all the overlooked things like
polythene bags, decoration items, metal polishes
etc. are also a contributing factor.

30. Delhi’s dependence on Yamuna :
 The Delhi stretch of the Yamuna river is about 22 km starting
from Wazirabad barrage to Okhla barrage (Sharma and Kansal).
 This stretch alone is responsible for 76% of the rivers’ pollution
but this stretch is also the main source of raw water for the
capital.
 This roughly accounts for 70% of Delhi’s water supply which
roughly translates to 57 million people.

31. Projects to Clean Yamuna :
 The Yamuna Action Plan (YAP) is a river
restoration project introduced in 1993. It is a
bilateral project between the government of India
and Japan where Japan offered loan assistance for
implementation of YAP.
 Subsequently, two phases YAP II and YAP III were
initiated in 2004 and 2008 respectively.
Unfortunately, the mission to clean Ganga and
Yamuna which includes YAP has failed according to
the Parliamentary Committee on Environment and
Forests.

32. Solutions :
Wastewater treatment Plastic waste reduction
Water conservation Install a water-efficient toilet in your home
Septic tanks Avoid using the toilet as a wastebasket
Stormwater management Green agriculture and wet land
Denitrification Ozone waste water treatment
Reuse Items Recyclable Options
Do not Dispose of Oils in the Sink Handle Toxic Chemical properly
Do not throw away Medicines Do not use Toilet as a Trash bin