Impact of Lock Down on India's Rivers : Improved ?

Impact of Lock Down on India's Rivers : Improved ?

Before Lock Down :

Earlier before lock down period  River Yamuna was said to be almost " Dead "said by the Central Pollution Control Board ( CPCB ) . As per the CPCB report the water quality of Yamuna came down as bad as sewage because of the loads of the untreated wastes from  Industrial Factories . Hence the river Yamuna was said to be unfit to support aquatic life under water . River Yamuna was said to be the          " Dirtiest  River " in India . Here's a look below of the earlier look of the River Yamuna depicting a huge mass of toxic foam in it . On an average research it is estimated that per day 35-40 million litres

of waste water enters into the river and other water bodies and only 37 % of it gets treated  . 

The National Green Tribunal has directed the West Bengal state government to submit a quarterly report on the issue of solid waste management . According to the green panel , the state only treats 49% of the waste water before dumping it into the Ganga River  . The ruling was made by a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel . The bench noted that about 90 % of municipal solid waste generated in Bengal is being dumped in the open every day in the of statutory pollution laws .

The tribunal noted that the West Bengal generates 1,311 million litres a a day ( mld ) of waste water and while 34 sewage treatment plants have a total installed capacity of 457 mld , their actual utilization is only 214 mld , which is only 49 % . the tribunal directed the state government to notify at least three major cities , towns , villages , in every district within two weeks . Thousands of rupees were invested for cleaning Ganga but it remained s a Dump yard . Through a rough estimate , around 80% of sewage was domestic & remaining 20 % belonged to industrial sectors . 

During Lock Down :

With the Industries and Factories shut , the river water has been as clear as transparent in this lock down such that we dip the hand in the water then we can see our hand visibly due to the clean transparent water . Earlier the River which used to be the " Dirtiest River " in India , is now flowing full cleaner at this time of year , just like a dead river came into life just within few days of lock down . Its a fact that despite of spending thousands of Rupees on the purification and cleaning of Yamuna over past many years we weren't able to succeed to clean the River Yamuna , but just within the few days of lock down the Nature Itself is able to clean and purify the river Yamuna , naturally . 

The Lock Down has also brought an impact on the 2500 km Ganga's health by reducing its 25-30 % of pollution level in water , resulting in an increase in Dissolved Oxygen ( DO ) and reduction in Biochemical Oxygen Demand ( BOD ) in this lock down . The level; of BOD signifies the decaying amount of the organic water present in the water , where as level of DO signifies the level of oxygen in water . If the DO Level is low then it can affect the aquatic life present under water . Ganga water at Haridwar & Rishikesh was reported fit for drinking due to downfall of 500% in sewage & industrial production . 

On  recent analysis on five rivers : Shooltankeshwar Ghat ( in the upstream of Benaras) , Samne ghat ( in Varanasi ) , Assi Ghat (  Southern most Ghat in Varanasi ) , Dashashwamedh ( main Ghat in Varanasi )  & Raj Ghat ( located in New Delhi ) , it is found that the Do Level ( Dissolved Oxygen Level ) increased up to 25% , while Biochemical Oxygen Demand ( BOD Level ) decreased up to 35 % . on a rare sighting fishes can be seen near the Ghat steps , this seems to have happened because of the absence of enormous crowds and clean water . 

Ideally a river is said to be fit for bathing , only if its FCC per 100 ml is less than 500 and for drinking FCC should be Zero .