Ganga water fit for bathing: Government report

New Delhi: The water of river Ganga is standard for bathing, a government report that tested the dissolved oxygen level of River Ganga found, reported PTI.

“The dissolved oxygen level of River Ganga, which is a parameter to assess the health of the water body, has been found to be within acceptable limits of the bathing criteria,” the government said on Monday.

Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu, who reviewed the report also added that none of the Ganga stretches is in priority category I to IV.

For the unversed, Category I is considered to be the most polluted with a high amount of Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) while category V is considered to be the least polluted.

Tudu also informed that only two stretches of River Ganga are in category V with Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) ranging between 3 and 6 mg/l as per CPCB categorisation of polluted stretch.

What Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data says

According to the CPCB data for 2021, the observed water quality of River Ganga indicates that dissolved oxygen (DO) has been found to be within acceptable limits of notified primary bathing water quality criteria and is satisfactory to support the ecosystem of the river for almost its entire stretch.

"The comparison of median data of water quality parameters viz., DO, BOD and Faecal coliforms (FC) of the year 2014 and 2021 shows that DO (Median) has improved at 31 locations; BOD at 46 locations and FC at 23 locations, respectively," he said in a written response.

Namami Gange Programme

Under the government programme, the CPCB is carrying out water quality assessments of the River Ganga at 97 locations in five states through respective State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs).

A total of 364 projects have been sanctioned under the programme at an estimated cost of Rs 30,853 crore and 183 projects have been completed and made operational.

"Out of these 364 projects, 160 projects belonging to sewerage infrastructure projects have been taken up for creation and rehabilitation of 5024 Million Litres per Day(MLD) of Sewage Treatment Plant capacity and laying of 5,227 km of sewerage network, out of which 76 projects have been completed resulting in creation and rehabilitation of 1,079 MLD of STP capacity and laying off 3,860 km sewerage network," he said.

The rest of the projects are at various stages of implementation, he said.