The Narendra Modi government has initiated many projects to clean up the Ganga, but pollution has increased at several sites where the river’s water is monitored. The water is not fit for drinking, bathing or domestic purposes.
Professor G.D. Agarwal, the prominent environmentalist who spent several years for the cause of cleaning up river Ganga, passed away on October 11. He had been on a fast for 112 days. Professor Agarwal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi thrice, demanding that the government ensure uninterrupted flow of Ganga. He sought to remind the PM of his visit to Varanasi in 2014 and his proclamation that “maa Ganga had called him”.
However, the prime minister’s office did not respond to Agarwal. He eventually sacrificed his life. The question now is how has the Modi government fared on its promise to clean up the Ganga and ensure uninterrupted flow.
The response to an RTI filed by The Wire provides some answers. The Ganga has not become any cleaner under the Modi government. In fact, the river’s contamination levels have increased at many places since 2013, even though Rs 5,523 crore was released for cleaning the Ganga between 2014 and June 2018. Of the funds released, Rs 3,867 crore has already been spent.
Pollution has risen at several sites
According to information provided by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an organisation under the ministry of environment, forest and climate change, the amount of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) in the Ganga river was very high in 2017. Information also reveals that the quantity of Dissolved Oxygen (DO) is continuously decreasing at most places.
BOD is the amount of oxygen needed by biological organisms to break down non-essential organic material in the water. The higher the BOD level, the faster oxygen present in water would deplete. A high BOD level is harmful for both the river and the organisms that live in it.
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