The GangesPollution sources and Treatment

prospects

presented by

Ravi Kiran JP Ashutosh & MD Asif Iqbal

“Defining generations”

Email ID: kiran.ravi382@gmail.comDepartment of Environmental Science & Engineering

Indian School of Mines(ISM), Dhanbad Jharkhand- 826004

The Ganges

Trans-boundary river of India & Bangladesh. The 2,525 km (1,569 mi) river rises in the western Himalayas in the

Indian state of Uttarkhand and flows south -east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal.

It is the longest river of India and is the second greatest river in the world by water Discharge.

The Ganges basin is the most heavily populated river basin in the world, with over 400 million people and a population density of about 1,000 inhabitants per square mile.

Ganga, has been enlisted on the list of 10 most endangered rivers of the world.

The Ganges Map

Scientific significance of the Ganga According to reports by environmental engineers of IIT

Roorkee , the Ganga decomposes the organic waste 15 to 25 times faster then other river.

Scientists and religious leaders have speculated on the causes of the river's apparent self-purification effect, in which water-borne bacteria such as dysentery and cholera are killed off, thus preventing large-scale epidemics.

Some studies have reported that the river retains more oxygen than is typical for comparable rivers; this could be a factor leading to fewer disease agents being present in the water.

The waters of the Ganga carry one of the highest sediment loads anywhere in the world, with a mean annual total of 1.6 billion tonnes, compared to 0.4 billion tonnes for the Amazon

Contd..

According to NBRI (National Botanical Research Institute) Ganga water have a anti bacterial quality .

It found in research the E. COLI live only 3 days in Ganga water due to its bacterio-phase quality's.

43% of Indian population rely on the Ganges lonely.

Environmental Problems

The Ganges was ranked among the top five most polluted rivers of the world in 2007, with fecal coliform levels in the river near Varanasi more than hundred times the official Indian government limits.

Pollution threatens not only humans, but also more than 140 fish species, 90 amphibian species and the endangered Ganges river dolphin.

It is filled with chemical wastes, sewage and even human and animal remains which carry major health risks by either direct bathing in the dirty water, or by drinking.  

Faecal Coliform Report by CPCB, 2012

Varanasi, the spiritual capital of India

It is found in research's the FAECAL COLIFORM levels in the river near Varanasi more than 100 times then official Indian government limit.

WATER QUALITY OF RIVER GANGA

Water quality can be characterize by mainly following parameters:

Dissolve oxygen (DO)Biological oxygen demand (BOD)Chemical oxygen demand (COD)Fecal coliform

Water Quality of Varanasi

Pollution sources, causes & Effects

Nonpoint sources: Runoff from agricultural fields Solid waste Marigold flowers with pesticides Human and Cattle excreta and fecal

matter Bathing and washing on ghats Cremation

Example Cremation at Manikamika Ghat

Point Sources

Sewage Effluent dischargeDomestic wasteIndustrial EffluentsOveflow and leakage of NalasPolluted river NalaLeather Industries

Ganga Action plan

 In 1986, the government had launched the first phase of Ganga Action Plan (GAP-I) to protect the country’s largest river basin. It selected stretches of the river along 25 cities in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. In 1993, GAP-II was initiated which included the river’s tributaries—the Yamuna, Gomti, Damodar and the Mahanadi. On February 20, 2009, the Union government gave the Ganga the status of a National River and re-launched GAP with a reconstituted National Ganga River Basin Authority. The re-launched GAP took into account the entire river basin and emphasised the river’s need to have adequate water to maintain its ecological flow. But five years after the re-launch, pollution levels are still, to say the least, grim. Rivers have the ability to clean themselves—to assimilate and treat biological waste using sunlight and oxygen. But the Ganga gets no time to breathe and revive

Failure of GAP I & GAP II

1.Non availability of Environmental State-of-the-Art.

2.Inappropriate Environmental Planning.

3.Establishment of non specific Sewage Treatment Plants on highly productive crop lands.

4. Least political dedication and vision to save the Ganga.

Government in Action Again

The Ganges River, considered to be sacred in India is getting a $1 billion clean up loan from the World Bank.

Clean up efforts that include building water treatment plants, fixing dams and other water quality improvement measures.

VARANASI is all set to witness establishment of National Ganga River Basin Research Institute for sustainable development of the Ganga river basin in the region. The Centre has expressed confidence that by 2020 the polluted River Ganga would be cleaned and Rs 15,000 crore will be spent on it. 

Prime Minister Plans New Policy to Clean Ganga – A Ray of Hopes!!

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi had vowed to come out with a plan to bring back the lost glory of Ganga during his campaign in Varanasi, and now his government is planning a policy initiative to check pollution in the mighty river.

“The government will work out a policy initiative for the rejuvenation of Ganga as well as the cleaning up of other important rivers in the country. Efforts will be made to make it clean and pious as it was in the past,” Union Minister of Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti said after taking charge of the ministry. Promising an early review the status of various river projects, including fund allocation, Bharti said all the rivers should be made free from the source of pollution and people should get clean water. 

Medium and Long Term strategy

Medium Term Plan Creating enabling environment through CPCB to achieve the objective

of zero liquid discharge Sanitation measures in 1649 Gram Panchayats as identified by Ministry

of Drinking Water and Sanitation Sewerage infrastructure coverage for identified 118 towns

Long Term Plan To emerge from Ganga River Basin Management Plan (GRBMP) being

prepared by consortium of 7 IITs, likely to be submitted by December, 2014 - Interim Report received from IIT consortium

Schematic Diagram of Varanasi proposed by GAP

Mision Clean Ganga 2020

Objective: “by year 2020, no untreated municipal sewage and industrial effluents flow into Ganga”

Gangotri

Ganga Sagar

River with unique Ecosystem River with unique Ecosystem and Biodiversity and Biodiversity

Socio-Cultural HeritageSocio-Cultural Heritage

Water Resource ManagementWater Resource Management

Environmental Quality Environmental Quality and Pollutionand Pollution

Geo-morphological Changes: Erosion, Sediment Geo-morphological Changes: Erosion, Sediment Transport/Deposition And FloodsTransport/Deposition And Floods

Contd..

REMEDIES FOR MISMANAGEMENT IN GANGA RIVER POLLUTION

Appropriate technology and suitable alternatives for waste water interception and treatment of sewage in Varanasi (Not to use electrical dependent pumps in STP, instead use gravity based)

A type of algae that eats feces that is use to turn sewage in to fertilizer could be use to clean the Ganges river (advanced integrated wastewater)

Improving river bank to reduce erosion Reduce obstruction of water flow By mind setup and reduction in corruption By proper and forceful implementation of water act and

environmental act River water quality monitoring at regular intervals

Environmentalists speaks:

“ Environmentalists say the river supports over 400 million people, and if the unabated pollution is not controlled, it will be the end of communities living along the banks.”

FUTURE THREAT!!

Conclusions

Due to excessive sewage discharge, industrial and domestic waste at various places, the quality and sacredness of Ganges has degraded

Aerobic microbial activity has reduced the DO and increased the BOD

Damming along the river at various places has reduced its carrying capacity to dissolve harmful things

Contd..

Dolphin, the national aquatic organism (Platanista gangetica gangetica) has become endangered due to excessive pollution

Indicating that the cultural, religious, social and economical value of Ganga is in danger

References

Divedi,S. 1991. Assessment of water quality of river Ganga at Varanasi. Ph.D. Thesis. Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi.

River Ganga At Varanasi: The Polluted Purifier, Priyadarshini Shukla And B.D. Tripathi Department Of Botany, Banaras Hindu University,

Varanasi (U.P.).STATUS PAPER ON RIVER GANGA, national river

conservation directorate ministry of environment and forest.