Centre conducts study to find if Covid present in Ganga water

New Delhi: The Centre is conducting a study to assess the presence of SARS-CoV-2, or novel coronavirus, in the Ganga as corpses were found dumped in the river during the second Covid wave, and were fished out from districts in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, officials said Monday.

The study is being conducted in phases and the first set of samples have already been collected from 13 locations, from Kannauj and Patna, said Saroj Batik, the Director of Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow.

During the virological study, RNA of viruses of interest present in the water will be extracted and subjected to an RT-PCR test to determine the presence of novel coronavirus in it, Batik said.

The IITR is an institute under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), he said.

The study will also include checking the biological characteristics of the river.

The process of taking samples for the next phase began on Monday, officials said.

The decision to conduct such a study was taken by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) after bodies were found dumped in the river when the second wave of coronavirus was at its peak in April-May.