B M Kohli
By giving a special focus on Holy river Ganges, which has been significantly mentioned in our ancient holy books and is worshiped as Ganga Ma since the time immemorial, Modi Government has not only tried to soothe the troubled feeling of entire Hindu Population of India but has done a great job in favour of those living in whole of the Ganga Basin irrespective of caste and creed. The life line of 500 million people , depending on her for all aspects of daily life , from drinking water to farming and MOKSHA, have become cause of its onisery while passing through 1450 km in Uttaranchal &UP , 445 KM in Bihar in addition to forming 110 km common border between two states and 520 km through West Bengal finally enters Bangla Desh before merging into sea. The amount of 2037 crores kept in the very first budget for its preservation and cleaning has depicted the will of the Government to save this river from further deterioration Rs 4200 crores has also being planned in next 5 years for improvement of ghats in addition to making it navigational from Allahabad to Haldia. This was not the first time a Prime Minister has revered Ganga as the nation’s identity. In 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, wrote in his Discovery of India:
“The Ganges above all is the river of India, which has held India’s heart captive and drawn uncounted millions to her banks since the dawn of history. The story of the Ganges, from her source to the sea, from old times to new, is the story of India’s civilization and culture, of the rise ..”
Our former Prime Minister Late Rajiv Gandhi also expressed its importance “The Ganges is a symbol of our prosperity, our culture, our heritage, our civilization, our philosophies…We have to see that Ganga does not remain just a symbol, but it should be such a symbol that will become a part of our everyday life and become a part of the future of India and make India strong.”So what makes Ganga so unique and sacred and referred to by many as Mother Ganga (Ganga Ma) and is so important to protect Her and to recognize as part of India’s national identity its self purifying properties and its water kept in every Hindu’s house. But pure is pure till you maintain its purity. Some Social groups decided this year to celebrate 14 Feb as a valentine day at the banks of Ganga stating it as past , present and future companion as their valentine . She must be allowed to flourish if India is to flourish. Getting its strength from 115 small rivers, Ganga River Basin largest in the world , covers 29 cities with population of over 1 lac, 23 cities / towns between 50,000 to 1 lac and other 178 inhabitations. Emerging from Gangotri Glacier, one of largest in Himalayas , presently 30.2 Km long and 0.5 to 2.5 Km wide, this most revered River is also on the verge of losing its sanctity for being declared now as one of the most polluted one in the world. The receding discharge of the river due to squeezing of Glaciers caused by global warming & as per UN 2007 climate change report which suggests the glacier flow may stop by 2030 and Ganges may reduce to a seasonal river during monsoon. Even now ,it has squeezes to a mere depth of two to two and a half feet in summer till it gets increased flow at Sangam with Yamuna river at Allahabad. Each state, it passes through, has a significant role in polluting Ganges. Countless tanneries , textile mills, chemical plants even distilleries, slaughter houses and hospital waste, all untreated, is dumped in to it resulting in a major concern. An estimated 2.9 billion liters of sewerage is dumped into Ganges and its tributaries every day much of which is untreated. Tons of plastic and other waste/ trash are thrown into Ganges which contributing to its chocking . A systematic classification done by Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board (UEPPCB) on river waters placing into the categories A: safe for drinking, B: safe for bathing, C: safe for agriculture, and D: excessive pollution, put the Ganges in D category. Coliform bacteria levels in the Ganges have also been tested at 5,500 in some places, a level too high to be safe for agricultural use let alone drinking and bathing. The leather industry in Kanpur which employs around 50,000 people in more than 400 tanneries uses chemicals such as toxic chromium compounds take refuge in Ganges for its waste. This chromium levels have not decreased in the Ganges effectively even after a common treatment plant was established in 1995. It now stands at more than 70 times the recommended maximum level. Varanasi, a city of one million people and as many pilgrims visit to take a “holy dip” sewage into the river each day, leading to large concentrations of fecal coliform bacteria. According to official standards, water safe for bathing should not contain more than 500 faecal coliform per 100ml, yet upstream of Varanasi’s ghats the river water already contains 120 times as much, 60,000 faecal coliform bacteria per 100 ml, as per the reports issued in 2012. As reported in Indian Express dated June 3, 2012 by Tarun Nangia “the Parliamentary Standing Committee on environment and forests has slammed the Environment Ministry for the deteriorating water quality of the Ganga, in spite of Rs 39,000 crore being spent on the Ganga Action and allied Plans (GAP).” The committee has also stated that it’s tributary Yamuna in spite of spending Rs. 1062 crores under Yamuna Action Plan 1 and II, has been allowed to turn into a ‘nala’. Consortium of 7 IITs which is preparing the Ganga River Basin Management Project (GRBMP) has recommended some measures thereby restoring the bactericidal, health promoting, non-putrefying and self purifying properties of water of Gages.
* In place of present policy of allowing treated sewerage into the river, adopting zero discharge into the river and promote reuse and recycle of waste water after proper treatment for its further use.
* Industries must treat their effluents and use only the recycled water.
* Organic forming should be promoted
* Also Ganges must be constitutionally declared as National River and issue National Ganga Act that ensure preservation and its protection with her unpolluted flow.
* Promoting living that is needful and not greedful in order to maintain and protect the Ganga River Basin and our scared natural resources.
David Graham of UK’s Newcastle University, who had done extensive studies on river Ganga, also charts out the priorities for Modi sarkar summarizing “solutions include routing wastes elsewhere, improving waste treatment prior to release, and motivating ‘social engineering’ to change behaviours and attitudes related to water quality in the river,”
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