Ganga

Ground Report India

I recall the day two months before, when I had the opportunity to attend a seminar at the outskirt of Delhi. The hot topics, to be bothered and discussed in the gathering was: “Pollution of River Ganga & its Control and Preservation” (i.e. Ganga ka Pradushan … Ganga Bachao”).

And so, so early reached at the venue ignoring the shivering cold weather. However, it happened so, probably due to the chilly cold situations, that VIPs- honourable guests and invited respected audience reached one by one…. at last to conclude it to be ‘a late affair’!

Charter of All India Ganga Yamuna Panchayat submitted to Minister of Environment8-10 February 2010

 
In its concluding session on 10th February, the all India Ganga Yamuna Panchayat organized by Tarun Bharat Sangh and Manushi Sangathan presented a Charter of Demands to Minister of Environment, Mr Jairam Ramesh for the effective implementation of the New Ganga and Yamuna Action Plans.  The Panchayat was inaugurated on February 8th by Shri Digvijay Singh, General Secretary, All India Congress Committee at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library which hosted the Panchayat.

The book "Aaviral Ganga" explores the question of what is a dam, and of what the river Ganga means to us, and the impact of dams in the Ganga river valley”

The book "Dole mein Pole" is a case study of Srinagar Hydro Electric Project, on River Alaknanda(the main tributary of Ganga) how the 200 MW dam clearance was converted into 330 MW. There was no public hearing, no extra study, no monitoring, no compliance etc.

A recent study monitoring water quality of river Ganga in Hardwar shows that it does not meet the standards for outdoor bathing set by the Central Pollution Control Board. This is primarily due to the continuing discharge of untreated wastewater and effluents from various drains directly into the river. The outfall from the sewage treatment plant (STP) at Jagjeetpur alone releases about 129 million litres daily (MLD) into the Ganga with a fecal coliform concentration of about 34 million/100ml!

Scientists from People’s Science Institute (PSI) took samples from 10 drains falling into river Ganga at different locations in Hardwar on January 2^nd and 3^rd, 2010 along with samples of the river water at 3 locations.

Kanpur, November 24, 2009: Shri Alok Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary, UP Urban Development and Environment, inaugurated the workshop organized by WWF India, Kanpur Nagar Nigam and IIT Kanpur.

Once it is known that the system of administration and management of water resources has grown in a manner which is not conducive to productivity and efficiency, then what options are we left with? How do we analyze the state of the system, so that the critical points are identified and improved upon?

Inland fisheries form an integral part of the vast gangetic basin.

The news is out. On December 2, 2009, Government of India announced its plans of taking a loan to clean the Ganga. This time around the World Bank is extending Rs $1 billion [Rs 4500 crore] loan to India.

This couldn't have been more relevant to the conversation that we are having here.