Multiple Assesment (Science)
GANGA:
Pollution of the Ganga, the largest river in India, poses significant threats to
human health and the larger environment. The river, which is severely
polluted with human waste and industrial contaminants, provides water to
about 40% of India's population across 11 states, serving an estimated
population of 500 million people, which is more than any other river in the
world.
Today, the Ganga is considered to be the fifth-most polluted river in the
world. Raghubir Singh, an Indian photographer, has noted that no one in
India spoke of the Ganga as being polluted until the late 1970s. However,
pollution had been an old and continuous process in the river by the time
people were finally acknowledging it. Stretches of over 600 km were
essentially ecologically dead zones. A number of initiatives were undertaken
to clean the river, but failed to deliver significant results. After getting
elected, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi affirmed to work on cleaning
the river and controlling pollution Subsequently, the Namami Ganga project
was announced by the government in the June 2014 budget. An
estimated Rs 3,000 crores had been spent by July 2016 in various efforts to
clean up the river.
Pictures of
ganga (You
can see how
polluted it is)
The water qualities of the River Ganga over a short stretch from Swarupganj
to Barrackpore (in West Bengal) have been determined and are compared
with the values reported by the National Environmental Engineering
Research Institute of India for the periods 1972–74 and 1979–80. The water
quality is generally bad, but not at such alarming levels as previously
determined by other agencies. Biochemical and chemical oxygen demand
(BOD and COD) levels are high but within tolerable limits. Dissolved oxygen
(DO) levels are are fairly high, indicating a reasonable self-purifying
capability for the River Ganga. However, nutrient loads containing N
(Nitrogen) and P (Phosphorus) have increased enormously in recent years.
It’s not just the surface, River Ganga is polluted from deep inside, a new
research has found. The research by a team of scientists from Banaras Hindu
University (BHU) and Mahatma Gandhi Kashividyapith University in Varanasi
has found that the river’s underwater has got fragmented, meaning no
existence of aquatic life, due to untreated sewage flowing into the river from
cities. The scientists have found millions of litres of waste water, containing
toxic elements and metals, is dumped in the Ganga, thereby depleting the
level of dissolved oxygen in its water, particularly near the river bed,
triggering a condition known as hypoxia, in which marine life cannot survive.
“These hypoxic stretches that can be from 50m to 400m downstream from
where a drain is a emptying into the river and are fragmenting the
underwater habitat as they become unfit for sustaining life,” said Jitendra
Pandey, a professor with the Centre for Advanced Study in Botany at BHU.
The findings have been published in Current Science, an Indian peer
reviewed science journal, in its December 25, 2019, issue. The researchers
have found that benthic communities - living organisms that inhabit the river
bed and river - are particularly under threat. As benthic communities along
with planktons (floating microscopic organisms) not just help to keep the
river water clean but also support the river’s food chain. Researchers say
their absence is threatening the existence of bigger animals such as fishes
and dolphins.
GANGA BEFORE AND AFTER THE LOCKDOWN (HOW THE
LOCKDOWN WAS A GIFT FOR THE HOLY RIVER GANGA)
YAMUNA:
In the early 20th century the Yamuna waters were described as clear blue.
However, due to high-density of population and rapid industrialization today
the Yamuna is one of the most polluted rivers in the world, especially around
New Delhi, the capital of India. Only 2% of the river length flows through
Delhi between Wazirabad and Okhla yet the city contributes about 76% of
the total pollution load in the river.
Sewage and industrial effluent is discharged into Delhi's drainage system. It
ends up in the river or percolates into the ground. The National Green
Tribunal has issued a slew of directions and has levied environmental
compensation on Departments and Agencies that have failed to provide
proper sewage and industrial effluent treatment plants before releasing
treated water into the drains and water bodies. A huge proportion of Delhi
residents live in unplanned colonies which have no sewage systems or even
where sewage networks exist have refused to take connections. Many
household industries which are prohibited from carrying out industrial
activities are discharging effluent into the drains. In additions, tons of
construction waste (malba) is dumped into the drains and the river and
enforcement action has not been taken by the authorities who have a
supervisory responsibility.
Yamuna polluted
beyond control,
even it’s treated
water can kill
According to a report submitted by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee
and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to the Yamuna Pollution
Control Committee, at least 90% of domestic wastewater in the city flows
into the Yamuna. The wastewater mainly comes from household activities
hence the presence of high content of detergent, laundry chemicals, and
phosphate compounds. Samples collected were found to have phosphate
concentration of 0.51 mg/litre, which is higher than the normal range of
0.005 to 0.05mg/litres. This abundance of phosphate formed layers of toxic
froth covering the rivers.
The 22-km stretch along the national capital has virtually no aquatic life -
thanks to over 20 drains that pour untreated sewage and other waste into
the river. Low levels of dissolved oxygen (DO) and a very high degree of
pollution are the reasons that killed the river. The current level of DO in the
river is only around 1 mg per litre, while it should be between 4 to 5 mg/l to
sustain life. Ammonia levels, which should to be at a maximum level of 1.2
mg/l, also shoot up to 12 mg/l at some points in the city. In the urban stretch
of Yamuna, there are no phytoplanktons or zooplanktons left. They have
vanished. Upstream from Wazirabad, the river is home to turtles, different
species of fish, crocodiles and an abundance of aquatic plants and
phytoplankton. But as it enters Delhi, the river starts to die.
YAMUNA AFTER LOCKDOWN (HOW THE LOCKDOWN WAS ALSO
A GIFT FOR YAMUNA JUST LIKE FOR GANGA)
*BLUE - POLLUTION LEVEL
GREEN – WATER QUALITY
RED – AQUATIC LIFE
~By Tanmay Doharey
IX-G
