Allahabad's Sangam among top four highly polluted stretches in Ganga

Sangam, the meeting place of the Ganga and the Yamuna rivers in Allahabad is still among top four highly polluted stretches in the longest Indian River. In the water quality report for January, released by Central Pollution Control Board (CBCB) on 39 stations along Ganga, the water of the river in Allahabad has been marked as 'not-satisfactory' for all the three stations.

According to the data, the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Coliform count were 3.9 mg and 43, 000 per liter of water respectively. However the desirable values for these parameters in the river water are below 3 mg and 500 per liter of water. In another indication of high pollution level in Ganga along Allahabad, the BOD of upstream water at Kadaghat in Kaushambi has been recorded at 4.4 mg which is 4.0 mg at another upstream station in Rasoolabad. "The river is highly polluted from Kadaghat in Kaushmabi to Sangam which could be the longest polluted stretch of the river," said a senior scientist at CPCB. The other cities along the bank of Ganga where water quality is 'not-satisfactory' are Kanpur, Rai Bareily, and Kannauj. Furthermore, the water quality of Mokama and Barahia towns in Bihar are also marked 'not satisfactory' but here only BOD values are poor.

"The main reason of water pollution in Allahabad is lack of sewage system. The sewage generations in the city as per 2016 estimates were 218 mld and after construction of new Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) the total sewage treatment capacity has reached to 273 mld. However, as sewage networking is still incomplete a huge amount of untreated sewage is flowing into the river," said U P Singh, Director General of Namami Gange, the flagship project of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rejuvenate the river.

"Once the networking of the sewage system is completed, we will be able to bring the water quality upto the mark," he added.

According to the study of the scientists engaged in Namami Gange project, 70 per cent of the pollution in the river is due to sewage, 20 per cent industrial waste and only 10 per cent is due to non-point sources like throwing garbage in the river, open defecation, and agricultural run-off.

According to the Union Ministry of Environment, the average BOD at Allahabad from 2010 to 2015 was 4.38 for upstream and 4.59 for downstream water.