August 2014
All-women Ganga walk to raise awareness
Krushna Patil, the youngest Indian woman to climb Mt. Everest, to join the eight member international
team
Even as the government readies its ambitious plan to clean the Ganga, one of the country’s most
important and polluted rivers, eight women mountaineers from across the globe, including two Indian
climbers, will embark on a 60-day-journey of 1,500 miles in October from Gomukh in the Himalayas to
the Bay of Bengal carrying the message of importance of abundant and safe drinking water.
Initiated by Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen of the Bancroft-Arnesen Foundation, the expedition is the first
step in the ‘Seven Continent Access Water Project’. The international team of six climbers — they are
from Israel, Chile, New Zealand, China, and South Africa — will subsequently travel along a prominent
river in each continent.
Ms. Bancroft is the first woman to travel to the North Pole on foot and by dogsleds, and is credited along
with Ms. Arnesen as the first women to ski across Antarctica.
“The [expedition] team hopes to show how the water and environmental issues along the Ganges River
are similar to other places around the world and innovative solutions are vital to the future of this
planet,” Ms. Bancroft said in an e-mail to The Hindu.
Explaining the reason behind choosing the Ganga to begin the project with, she said the river represented
a great example of both water crisis and a deep-rooted dependence on water for human existence. “With
400 million residents relying on the Ganges for water, food, bathing, and worship, the river represents a
unique and vital aspect to millions of peoples’ everyday lives. The pollution not only threatens humans,
but also the fish species dependent on it.”
In 2007, the Ganga was one of the five most-polluted waterways in the world.
Joining the international team will be Krushna Patil from Mumbai, the youngest Indian woman to climb
Mt. Everest. “This is different than climbing a mountain. This expedition also involves meeting locals and
interacting with them. I hope that we will succeed in convey our message to the world,” she told The
Hindu.
This all-women team also hopes to interact with thousands of young people, talking about the
importance of clean drinking water. Following the Ganga expedition, the team will travel to Africa. The
expedition will culminate in Antarctica.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/eight-women-set-to-travel-along-ganga-to-raiseawareness-on-water-issues/article6347165.ece
Environmentalists warn NDA plan to 'open up' Ganga could have 'hazardous' consequences for holy
river's dolphins
The NDA government's plan to develop the Ganga as a waterway for commercial navigation could undo
all efforts to rejuvenate the holy river, environmentalists have warned.
River ecologists have asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti to
exercise all caution and "abandon such a plan" because it could have "hazardous, irreversible
consequences" for the already threatened ecology of the river.
Citing potential hazards arising from the use of large vessels in inland waterways, environmentalists have
claimed that this is bound to cause oil spills and a large amount of waste dumping, thus further increasing
the pollution instead of curbing it.
'Hazardous': Ecologists say a single pint of oil released into the water is said to cover one acre of a water
body, impacting drinking water and the whole ecosystem. The NDA plans to open the river up to
commercial navigation
The experts pointed to countries like the US, where oil spills from vessels contribute the most to the
pollution of inland waterways.
In Europe too, the issue of oil spills in navigable waterways has been acute.
More...
• Development drive gets green light as NDA government clears controversial industrial projects in
critical wildlife habitats
• No wonder he looks happier! Raju the elephant, who moved the world to tears after pictures of him
crying swept the internet, is all smiles after he is introduced to five females
• UPA's Ganga clean up board a 'non-starter' says new water minister
Ecosystem
Most of the oils and chemicals in American waterways come from refuelling, boat maintenance and bilge
discharges.
A single pint of oil released into the water is said to cover one acre of a water body, impacting the
drinking water and whole ecosystem, they said.
The international models are far from perfect and should not be blindly implemented without
ascertaining all the possible consequences, the environmentalists said.
Speaking about the NDA plans for the river's redevelopment, Union Water Resources Minister Uma
Bharti said: 'We will mix tradition with technology and we believe that modernisation without
westernisation is possible'
Aquatic wildlife experts, too, have warned about the possible loss of the critical wildlife, notably the
Ganges dolphin, an indicator species of the river and country's national aquatic animal that is found in
some stretches of the river.
Since dredging for developing a waterway entails deep and wide excavation, it destroys all the aquatic
flora and fauna.
"Dredging is dangerous and is sure to remove all the flora and fauna wherever it is done.
"Dolphins require deep and static waters to thrive. They are almost certain to be displaced or
exterminated altogether.
"The habitat of dolphins, along with gharials, crocodiles and other species, is going to suffer.
"Aquatic life cycles and food chains will be disturbed altogether," Sandeep Behera, member of the
Dolphins Committee in the National River Conservation Directorate, told Mail Today.
Navigation plan
Manoj Misra of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan said: "A thorough environment assessment for such a navigation
plan needs to be conducted. Besides, there needs to be an environment management plan in place.
"Their priority should be to have ecological flows in the river and revive it first before conceiving any
other plan.
"They need to have regulatory provisions well in advance rather than waiting for disasters to happen.
They need to be preactive instead of proactive," Misra said.
Ravi Agarwal of the NGO Toxic Links, too, has warned of potentially grave consequences of dredging in
shallow and polluted stretches of the river.
"The first step should be to restore the flows of river. Navigation must be avoided in some of the already
most polluted stretches, where the situation could further worsen from oil spills and waste dumps," he
said.
The Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Ministry is framing a plan to conduct dredging to create a
waterway 45 metres wide and three metres deep for the movement of passengers and goods between
Hooghly and Varanasi on the Ganga.
Eleven terminals are to be built at every 100 km.
The transport of coal, fertilizers and foodgrain will be explored at a later stage.
[Inactive hide details for Boatmen approach Modi office against boating ban]Boatmen approach Modi
office against boating ban
Boatmen approach Modi office against boating ban
Varanasi: Members of boatmen and fishermen community approached the local office of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi in Ravindrapuri Colony with their problems on Monday. They submitted an application,
demanding withdrawal of ban on boating in Ganga. The ban was imposed after an overloaded boat
capsized midstream on August 5, in which 18 persons lost their lives.
The livelihood of about 40,000 people of boatmen and fishermen community had been adversely
affected by the ban imposed by the district administration, said Vinod Kumar Nishad, president of Maa
Ganga Nishadraj Sewa Samiti. "For last 20 days, people of this community have been facing acute
hardship as there are no other means of livelihood for them," he said. In such a situation, they could
begin an agitation. "What is logic for restricting boating after an accident, when no such ban is imposed
on the operation of trains, buses and aircraft. Boatmen always help in relief works during floods.
After the boat tragedy on August 5, the district administration had imposed ban on boat operation in
Ganga on August 6 till the end of flood. Sitting on stationary boats to see Ganga Aarti at different ghats
was also banned.
Shipping Ministry sets up monitoring unit for Rs 4,200 crore Ganga project
NEW DELHI: The Shipping Ministryhas set up a monitoring unit for its ambitious Rs 4,200 crore AllahabadHaldia Jal Marg Vikas project on Ganga for commercial navigation as well as cruise tours connecting
religious places.
The development follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi recent review of important infrastructure
projects."Process of establishment of PMU (project monitoring unit) has been completed," Shipping
Ministry has said in a communication to the Finance Ministry.
The project includes developing the National Waterways-1 between Allahabad-Varanasi -Buxar-PatnaHaldia, which has several religious places.The Ministry said a detailed project for 'Jal Marg Vikas'
(National Waterways-I) is under preparation for it to cover a distance of 1,620 km, which will enable
commercial navigation of at least 1500 tonne vessels.
"The project will be completed over a period of six years at an estimated cost of Rs 4,200 crore. The
implementation of Jal Marg Vikas by 2020 would enable movement of large cruise vessels through the
year up to Allahabad," it said.
At present, the cruise ships can ply between Kolkata and Varanasi for about 8 months. President Pranab
Mukherjee in his address had said Inland and Coastal waterways will be developed as major transport
routes.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitely while presenting the budget had also said that a project on river Ganga will
be developed between Allahabad and Haldia to cover a distance of 1620 km, which will enable
commercial navigation of at least 1500 tonne vessels.
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-08-26/news/53243878_1_shipping-ministry-financeministry-vessels
Cleaning Ganga an environmental, cultural need
King Bhagiratha of Kosala, an ancestor of Rama, is said to have brought down goddess Ganga from the
heavens to flow on the earth in the form of a river. The waters of the holy Ganga were needed to purify
and release the souls of Bhagiratha’s ancestors, who were otherwise doomed. The story goes that King
Bhagiratha meditated for a thousand years and resorted to the toughest of penance to win the boon of
the Ganga for the earth. Such were the hardships he endured with his single-minded determination that
the expression Bhagiratha Prayatna has come to symbolise extreme effort against overwhelming odds.
For centuries, pilgrims from all over India have journeyed to the Ganga to purify themselves. In terms of
reverence, religious significance and sheer emotional value, the river has no rival.
Today, the same Ganga river has come to symbolise pollution of the highest order and there is a question
mark on whether the river will disappear into folklorejust as another mighty river of yore, Saraswati.
Untreated industrial wastewater, agricultural run-off, municipal sewage and solid waste have turned the
river into an unholy, filthy mess. Also, large amounts of water have been diverted via dams and barrages
leaving the river in a fragmented and depleted condition.
While many blame Hindu rituals for the pollution of the Ganga these contribute only a minor fraction of
the pollutants that flow into the river. The heaviest contamination comes from industrial wastewater
from tanneries, textile mills, distilleries, sugar mills, pulp and paper factories and other manufacturers.
Fertilisers and pesticides from farms also form a strong chemical component while sewage and solid
wastes washed down from cities by rainfall make up the rest of the toxic profile of the river.
For years, environmentalists and even Hindu priests have been advocating in vain to stop the abuse of
the Ganga. Swami Nigamananda, who went on a hunger strike in 2011 over the pollution caused by illegal
mining in the river bed, died after 115 days of fasting. Veer Bhadra Mishra, the chief priest of the famous
Sankatmochan Temple in Varanasi was himself a hydraulic engineer who tirelessly espoused the cause of
stopping sewage flows into the Ganga until his death in 2013. He died a disappointed man. Mishra was
listed as a “Hero of the Planet” by Time Magazine in 1999 for bringing the plight of the Ganga to the
world’s attention and inspiring other river activists. “It’s a lost battle,” says Rakesh Jaiswal, another wellawarded environmentalist who has spent the past two decades mobilising hundreds of volunteers to
physically clean the Ganga and to lobby for shutting down tanneries in Kanpur that dumped wastewater
illegally. For all his efforts, he sees “almost no result on the ground”andhas received many threats to his
life from the industrial lobby.
In 1985 the Ganga Action Plan (with the unfortunate acronym GAP) was launched with much fanfare to
reducepollution load on the river. Two phases of GAP (I and II) have reportedly spent a total of Rs 950
crore, according to a response to a question in the Parliament by the Environment Minister in 2013. This
is grossly inadequate to improve the quality of a river which passes through so many densely populated
cities. In fact, most of the amounts have been spent in a haphazard way without any planning or
coordination. Treatment plants have been built without sewers being connected to them. In the absence
of a continuous supply of electricity, many plants have floundered. The lack of trained professionals to
operate and maintain the plants have rendered the entire exercise a futile one.
Until early this year, the revival of the Ganga was indeed a lost cause. The first tiny glimmer of hope came
when Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister chose to contest the national elections from Varanasi, on
the banks of the Ganga. “Mother Ganga has called out to me,” he said evocatively. A day after he won
the election, he stood on the riverbank and vowed to restore the sanctity of the river. One of his first
actions has been to expand the role of the Water Resources Ministry to include “Ganga Rejuvenation”
and to appoint Uma Bharatias the Minister, who has long been vocal about saving the Ganga. All of a
sudden, a decrepit, uninspiring Ministry has become the cynosure of all eyes.
When he was Chief Minister of Gujarat, Modi gathered much publicity for the Sabarmati Riverfront
Project that cleaned a 10.5 km stretch. Critics slammed the project for being focussed on mere
beautification. However, it was the first project of its kind in India where urban rivers are stinking
eyesores and best avoided.
So what needs to be done to restore the Ganga? “First of all we need to strictly implement zero discharge
of industrial wastewater,” says Professor Vinod Tare of IIT-Kanpur. He coordinates the consortium of
seven IITsthat was formed to prepare the Ganga River Basin Management Plan (GRBMP) in 2010. “All
industries must be required to not only treat their wastewater but also to reuse it completely without
discharging anything to the river or ground,” says the professor. He stresses that this cannot be
accomplished without pricing water intelligently. Unless the cost of recycled water is much cheaper than
freshwater, industries will not be motivated to reuse their process water or look for innovative ways to
conserve the precious liquid. Industries can even buy treated sewage from cities at low cost.
In the absence of sewers, GAP adopted the strategy of intercepting sewage before it fell into streams or
drains (that drained into the Ganga) and then diverting it to treatment plants. The idea was to let the
effluents merge with the Ganga after treatment. According to Dr Tare, this is a flawed strategy. “What is
the point in treating sewage to a high standard and then putting it back into rivers?” He also highlights
that it is important to maintain minimum environmental flows in the river. Instead of damming and
choking off flows at various sections, efforts must be made to ensure continuity at all times. This would
not only be beneficial for aquatic life but would allow the natural self-purification properties of the river
to take over.
It is becoming evident that the private sector will need to play a big role in restoring the Ganga. For one
thing, the tab of Rs 50,000 to 80,000 crore for the programme cannot be picked up by the Government
alone. Secondly, it is important to tap into the wealth of technological and management expertise
available with the private sector. But contracts have to be structured carefully, avoiding the mistakes of
the past. State and local Governments also need to be fully committed.
High-level coordination and monitoring will be required by the Central Government to avoid the gaps
that derailed the earlier GAP. There is much scope for learning from and partnering with river authorities
and utilities in other parts of the world.
“Cleaning the Ganga is not about going and cleaning the Ganga,” explains Dr Tare. “Ganga can clean itself
if we let it flow freely and just stop wastewater and rubbish from entering it; if we keep our cities and
catchment areas clean.”
The Professor points out that even though rituals do not contribute much to the total pollution, they
make the river look unsightly and ugly. When people throw flowers, ashes, and half-burned bodies freely
into the river, the industries feel more emboldened to continue polluting. “Besides, our Hindu scriptures
do not sanction the throwing of anything, even flowers into the Ganga,” he asserts. Many decades and
lives have been wasted, but now the time has come to demonstrate the ultimate Bhagiratha Prayatna
needed to restore the sacred Ganga to its former glory.
Constructions along Ganga, tributaries choking river
RUDRAPRAYAG: The river Ganga, according to mythological stories will die one day. Given the condition
of the river today, it seems that the prophesy may actually prove to be true. This time, it is the
environmentalists and a host of green activists who are repeatedly warning that the river be spared from
human interference, allowed to flow freely and protected from pollution to save it.
But will anybody heed to this sage advice? After last June's flash floods that wreaked havoc in
Uttarakhand, several reasons were identified as the cause of the natural disaster-turned worse because
of massive encroachment caused by over construction of commercial and residential buildings on both
sides of the Ganga and its tributaries and hydro-power projects besides deforestation to name just a few
man-made causes.
The Ganga, considered the holiest river in the country, begins its over 2,500-km journey in Garhwal
Himalayas at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda at Devprayag in Tehri district. Although
many small streams comprise the headwaters of the Ganga, the six longest and their five confluences are
considered sacred. The six headstreams are the Alaknanda, Dhauliganga, Nandakini, Pindar, Mandakini,
and Bhagirathi.
Of these the most important are the Bhagirathi, that rises at the foot of Gangotri glacier at Gaumukh, and
the the Alaknanda, formed by snowmelt from such peaks as Nanda Devi, Trisul, and Kamet. It is the
Alaknanda, the majestic glacial river from high Garhwal Himalayas that gives Bhagirathi its immense
volume and turns into the Ganga.
Today, the Alaknanda is drying up in large swathes ranging from 15km to 35 km even before it converges
with the Bhagirathi at Devprayag in Tehri district, raising deep concerns about the Ganga's very existence.
Why is the Alaknanda drying up? The Alaknanda, that once sliced through the Lambagar area just below
the 400-MW Vishnu Prayag hydroelectric power project in Chamoli district does not flow there anymore.
Construction work for this hydroelectric power project has forced it to change its course.
Environmentalists warn that a delicate ecological balance in the area has been gravely imperiled and say
that at least a 30-km stretch of riverbeds of the Alakanada and Bhagirathi have begun to dry up.
In the case of Alaknanda, the previous BJP government cleared the construction of a 12-km-long tunnel
and four-storeyed hydro-electric project in 2008. As a result, explosives were used to blast the mountains
near the river area and the debris caused the drying up of the riverbed.
This has also destroyed the entire picturesque region, including its beautiful flora and fauna, and
upsetting its eco-system," said a Dehradun-based scientist Ravi Chopra, who also runs an NGO to study
the major causes leading to gradual choking up of the Ganga at different points in Uttarkashi, Chamoli,
Pauri and Chamoli districts over the last couple of years.
Unlike the Alaknanda, he told TOI, the fate of the Bhagirathi is somewhat better ever since the previous
UPA-2 government declared a 100-km stretch from Gaumukh (the source of Bhagirathi's origin) to
Uttarkashi as eco-sensitive zone. The Bhagirathi has been flowing through the region freely due to a
blanket ban on the construction of hydropower projects on the river.
"But from Uttarkashi to Devprayag, the construction of six hydropower projects across the river a couple
of years ago, including the MW 300 and 400 MW Maneri Bhali-Phase 1 and 2, 1000-MW Tehri
hydropower project and 250-MW Kotli Bhale project, have caused serious threat to the Ganga's
existence," said Ravi Chopra.
According to experts and environmentalists who have been pressing for saving the Ganga and its
tributaries by ensuring unhindered flow of river water, say that out of total 450 proposed dams in
Uttarakhand, 250 small and big projects of 5-MW-capacity and above are proposed to be constructed
across the Bhagirathi, Alaknanda, Dhauli and Mandakini rivers. Fourteen of them are under construction.
The story at Maneri Bhali village in Uttarkashi district, which Chopra has identified, as seriously damaged
and dry area, is no different. The fate of a 10-km stretch along the Bhagirathi riverbed was sealed by
large quantities of debris of construction material used for constructing the power house and other
buildings for another 400-MW project.
"These dry stretches run for at least 20-km from the construction site. The river thereafter begins to
revive when other steams and rivulets join it," said Chopra.
Pollution is another cause of worry, say environmentalists. According to the findings of a study on
pollution-level in the Ganga which was submitted to MoEF last month by Dehradun-based Wild Life
Institute of India (WII), 48% of the total 224-km river stretch from Lambagar to Joshimath and from
Joshimath to Devprayag in Chamoli, Pauri and Tehri districts and Uttarkashi to Devprayag in Uttarkashi
district, is considerably affected due to rise in pollution level and encroachments due to massive
constructions on both sides of the river in the next couple of years.
Experts of IIT-Roorkee have warned that 65% of the river length would be polluted due to above factors
within a couple of years.
Experts in WII and IIT-Roorkee submitted the findings of their separate studies on the problem as part of
members of an expert body set up by MoEF in October, 2013, following a Supreme Court directive.
What has worried environmentalists and 'Save Ganga' crusadors like activist G D Aggarwal is that despite
Uttarakhand high court's clear-cut directive to the state government a couple of months ago to clear the
encroachments on a 200-meter radius along the Ganga from Uttarkashi and Chamoli districts to
Haridwar, government has failed to enforce the order so far. "Due to state government's inability to
enforce the HC's order to this effect, encroachments on both sides of the Ganga continue to pose a
threat to its existence," said environmentalist Anil Joshi.
Chief secretary Subhash Kumar, however, said government has asked senior authorities in Haridwar
Development Authority and other related bodies in different districts to identify the areas within a
distance of 200-meter from river sides that are under encroachment. "Once these points of
encroachments are identified, we will enforce the HC order to remove the encroachment with immediate
effect," he added.
"We are concerned about the rise in pollution level and encroachment along the river sides but we will
have to find a middle ground where development and river protection can co-exist," said a senior IAS
officer.
A social activist Rajiv Lochan Sah who has been crusading for a "nadi bachao abhiyan" in Uttarakhand
along with other environmentalists, has also expressed his concern over drying up the Ganga due to
encroachments. "We need to intensify the 'nadi bachao abhiyan' through mass contact programme to
create awareness among people to join hands to keep the Ganga clean by all means," said Sah.
"Being an integral part of our centuries-old civilization, we must go to any extent to ensure total
conservation of the Ganga in Uttarakhand. For that, we need the help of most NGOs and those
supporting the cause of Ganga," said CM Harish Rawat.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/Constructions-along-Ganga-tributaries-chokingriver/articleshow/41116820.cm
Thames model may not work well for Ganga clean-up plan'
BHOPAL: "Cleaning up the Ganges is a huge challenge. Following the model of Thames, which is actually a
canal may not work for the Indian river. Results could be worse if Indian factors are not considered while
cleaning up the holy river. We must learn lessons from Yamuna clean-up plan which was based on
Thames model and failed," said Manoj Kumar Mishra, executive director of PEACE Institute Charitable
Trust and Head of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan. He was one of the participants of a panel talk organized at
Indian Institute of Forest Management on Thursday.
Environmentalist from Bhopal and outside discussed the imperative issue and challenges of water and
river ecosystem on the occasion.
Mishra said the basic dharma of river are behna, failna and ithlana.
"Allowing free flow of river and flooding of river, which is a regular phenomenon are going to help in
rejuvenation of the river. Pollution and invasion and obstruction by certain infrastructure have badly
affected the water bodies in India," he added.
Ecological Foundation director Sudhirendar Sharma, said "River colour in India has faded from blue to
grey because of human interventions. To improve the condition of water ecosystem, we need to have a
broader perspective in mind. Maximizing benefit out of this scarce resource will have a detrimental effect
in long run."
Traditional knowledge may help us in preserving water, he added. IIFM director GA Kinhal said rivers
must not be tre ated as commodities.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/Thames-model-may-not-work-well-for-Ganga-clean-upplan/articleshow/41175279.cms
Nepal dams release water, UP rivers play havoc; 48 dead, 1,000 villages marooned
Lucknow, August 18: Floods have claimed 48 lives in Uttar Pradesh with several rivers flowing above
danger mark posing threat to more than 1,000 villages. The rivers are in spate after release of water from
dams in Nepal. Almost all major rivers — Sharda, Ghaghra, Saryu and Rapti — were wreaking havoc in
Bahraich, Shravasti, Lakhimpur Khiri, Balrampur and Gonda districts in UP.
The worst affected was Baharich where the swollen Ghaghra has claimed 14 lives. Thirteen persons were
killed in neighbouring Shravasti while three deaths were reported in Sitapur's Reusa block.
The Army was assisting in the relief and rescue operations. Two helicopters and a National Disaster
Response Force team were pressed into service to rescue marooned villagers . Around 17,000 persons
have been moved to relief camps. The state government has asked district officials to remain in constant
touch with the affected people and also warned that no laxity in the relief works would be tolerated.
Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan has asked Principal Secretary Revenue to take reports of the flood situation
on a daily basis and apprise officials and the government of the same.
A total of 117 villages in two tehsils of Shravasti district, having a population of 60,000, have been
affected by floods.
In Bahraich, Chief Revenue officer, U S Upadhyay said level of water of Saryu river has come below the
danger mark while river Ghaghra was still flowing about the danger mark.
Rising water level of river Ghaghra also posed a threat to rail and road traffic. Traffic at National Highway
28 was affected after flood waters submerged the roads near Ganeshpur.
A state government spokesperson said Rs 51 crore have been released for flood relief measures. The
level of Ganga was rising dramatically in western UP with flood-like situation in Bijnore and
Muzzafarnagar districts.
PTI adds: So far 14 districts in Assam have been affected by the current wave of flood that has claimed
three lives besides inundating vast tracts of cropland and hundreds of villages.
The flood waters of Brahmaputra have submerged about 70 per cent of the core area of Kaziranga
National Park forcing the animals to cross the National Highway 37 (New 715) located on south of the
park to highlands.
Flood waters have inundated Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary near Guwahati. The wildlife habitat is known for
the highest concentration of one-horned rhinoceros on the globe. According to official sources, about
four lakh people have been affected by the flood in 14 of the districts of the state. Lakhimpur and
Dhemaji in eastern Assam on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River are the worst affected districts
where the water level of Brahmaputra and its tributaries is flowing over the red mark.
Assam situation grim
14 districts in Assam have been affected by the current wave of flood that has claimed three lives.
The flood waters of Brahmaputra have submerged about 70 per cent of the core area of Kaziranga
National Park.
Flood waters have inundated Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary near Guwahati.
About four lakh people have been affected by the floods in 14 of the districts of the state.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140819/main3.htm
Water conservationist cautions centre against Ganga project
Water conservationist Rajendra Singh has said that the plan to start building 16 barrages on Ganga River
between Haldia and Allahabad from October, should be put on hold till a proper evaluation of the impact
of Farakka barrage on the free flow, bio-diversity and pollution defying capacity of the Ganga is
completed.
Speaking at a day-long seminar on the topic Bihar and Ganga on Sunday at Gandhi Sangrahalaya, Singh
said the move would be disastrous for Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and a vast majority of its people.
"It is time to intervene and inform the centre on the possible scientific, engineering, socio-economic and
cultural impact of rushing through the move," he said.
Maintaining, that he was not against development, Singh said his experience favoured 'development with
restoration'.
"The backdrop of the debilitating impact of Farakka barrage alone on the bio-diversity and free flow of
Ganga and the resultant large scale erosion, floods and displacement of people in Bihar was signal
enough for exercising caution," he said.
Agreeing with legislative council member Kedar Pandey's open insinuation that the Ganga Abhiyan and
move to start ferry service was being conceived to benefit corporate houses and not the common man,
Singh said, dredging of the river bed can facilitate the movement of 100 tonne capacity ships.
"But the government intends to ferry ships with 450 tonne freight capacity," he said, adding "The Rs.
4,600 crore detailed project report (DPR) was readied in only a week's time."
Singh said the intention to run double-decker ships was also a giveaway as it would require barrages, at
least 10 metre high, instead of 5metres as was being proposed.
"In Bihar plains, a 1 metre high barrage would have an impact on several miles of the river. The low
contour difference in Bihar plains practically rules out the feasibility of building barrages," he said
agreeing to the point raised by Prof RK Sinha, also kown as the dolphin man.
The participants agreed to Singh's suggestion to build opinion for a river policy to ensure that river land
could not be reclaimed for real estate and industrial use.
"Pressure should also be mounted for the passage of Water Security Act to ensure community right on
water, river and sewerage water separation, treatment of city waste water for industrial and irrigation
use and ensuring at least 51% ecological flow of Ganga," he said.
Majority of the speakers including Ram Bihar Singh, convenor Bihar Kisan Sangathan (BKS), Prof Vijay
Kumar of Bhagalpur University, Prof Wasi Ahmad, a specialist on Ganga River, PK Singh, engineer, Prof RK
Sinha and Kedar Pandey, shared their perspectives on the inherent dangers of the move and the
necessity to maintain the free flow of Ganga River so that the flow originating from its source could also
pass through the states of Bihar and UP.
While the convenor of BKS said the project should start only after soliciting the opinion of the people
living in Ganga basin, Prof Kumar said, instead of taking up new measures for inter-linking of rivers, the
natural inter-linking of rivers of Bihar and Jharkhand regions should be revived.
Prof Ahmad said free flow of rivers into the ocean should not be fiddled with, or else, it would lead to
increase in salinity and impact the life cycle in oceans and rivers.
Prof Sinha said the best solution for pollution was dilution and castigated the IIT consortium for not doing
anything original for maintaining the continuity and cleanliness of Ganga
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/water-man-cautions-centre-against-ganga-project/article11253482.aspx
South Australia keen on 'Clean Ganga' project
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious 'Clean Ganga' project received a shot-inthe-arm with the South Australia government showing its interest in cleaning up the river, which is
considered sacred by many Indians.
South Australian premier Jay Weatherhill said on Wednesday that his government would propose a plan
to clean the mighty Ganga.
"We have the expertise to clean rivers and we are interested in taking up the 'Clean Ganga' project. We
are also planning to meet India's water resources ministry and the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs to
give them our proposal," said Weatherhill during a promotional campaign of the South Australian
government for the 2015 Cricket World Cup.
'Clean Ganga's is one of Modi's pet project. The prime minister, through his MyGov site is also calling for
suggestions to clean the Ganga. The Modi government is keen on seeking to bring about a radical change
in the river's condition.
Union water resources minister Uma Bharti also claimed Wednesday that Ganga would be free from
most of its pollution within three years
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/pollution/South-Australia-keen-on-Clean-Gangaproject/articleshow/40513180.cms
Ganga rises 60cm in a day
KANPUR: Ganga is rising rapidly. At barrage the river was flowing at 113.12 metres with its level rising by
60cm on Tuesday. The sudden rise in the river's water level is attributed to heavy rains and cloud bursts
(causing flash floods) in the hills of Uttarakhand.
The staff said that the river would cross 113.50 metre mark by Wednesday morning. The rising river has
threatened villagers of low-lying Katri region near the Ganga barrage. Around 12 villages would be
marooned in case of floods. The continuous rise in the river has forced barrage administration to increase
the water discharge. This is likely to prove catastrophic for low-lying areas of Allahabad and Varanasi.
Gauge reader Uttam Pal said that on Tuesday morning nearly 2.48 lakh cesucs of water was discharged
from barrage towards Unnao which would reach Allahabad and Varanasi in next two days. He further said
that river would continue to rise due to regular discharge of water from Narora dam.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Kanpur/Ganga-rises-60cm-in-aday/articleshow/40437464.cms>
Clean Ganga mission: Centre identifies 11 states to be linked to sewer network
For making Modi's clean Ganga mission a success, the Centre government has identified 11 states along
the river channel which will need to be connected with a dense sewer network before Ganga can be
converted to a clean river.
The Urban development ministry in a study conducted has identified 11 states from where the river
flows. Shockingly only 34% area under these states has a sewer network. Most of the untreated sewerage
is drained directly into the Ganga or its tributaries.
The eleven states are Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Madhya
Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh.
"Creating a well-laid sewer system and building Sewer Treatment Plant (STP) along the course of the river
are the indispensable to clean up the river," said an officer of the UD ministry.
Despite the UD ministry having sanctioned Rs4,191 crore on creating a sewer management network
along the river channels across the country and Rs3,554 crore spent, only 34% of the country is covered
under the network.
The ministry of environment and forest under its National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) had identified
190 small and big towns along the river channels for setting up STPs. Reports reveal that Uttar Pradesh
which has the longest course of Ganga and its tributaries had spent Rs828 crore of its sanctioned Rs1,272
crore to ensure that its sewerage is not drained into the river.
Delhi too has spent Rs30 crore of sanctioned Rs165 crore and West Bengal Rs106 crore for setting up
STPs along the river.
Bihar and Jharkhand have not spent a single penny. These states so far have not submitted any plans to
set up STPs along the river course.
Incidentally despite having spent crores of rupees, over 68 lakh houses in Uttar Pradesh are yet to be
connected to the sewer line. Which means the government will have to spend another Rs17,000 crore in
the state to clean it up.
Experts, however, feel that the problem is much larger and the existing models of setting up and
managing STPs is not sustainable. "Sewer network needs flowing water. Water being scares, the network
have so far not been successful," said Shubhagato Dasgupta, senior fellow at Centre for Policy Research.
The scientist also informed that the technology is expensive and so far not been sustainable.
Policy experts also feel that inter ministerial coordination is important to role out such plans, which has
so far been missing. The NRCP guidelines say that the city sanitation plan is mandatory before allotting
funds to set up sewer network. While some schemes of the UD Ministry follow the guidelines other do
not. "For any city centric plan, inter ministerial coordination is required, which we have been lacking so
far," added Dasgupta.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-clean-ganga-mission-centre-identifies-11-states-to-be-linked-tosewer-network-2012453
Ministries Spar Over Cleaning of Ganga
NEW DELHI: During his Independence Day speech, Narendra Modi had touched upon efforts made to
check infighting between government departments, but one of his pet projects -- cleaning up the Ganga - is stuck due to differences between the Committee of Secretaries set up to chart a road map for
cleaning and rejuvenating the mighty river.
Limiting the number of dams upstream, inland waterways and having a self-sustainable operating model
are some of the contentious issues. The Committee comprising secretaries from the Ministry of
Environment and Forests (MoEF), Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of
Shipping was formed in June and was supposed to submit a blueprint for cleaning up the Ganga in a
month’s time. Since its constitution, the committee has met six times, but failed to reach a conclusion till
now.
The delay in coming out with a plan was also criticised by the Supreme Court, which has now set a twoweek time frame starting fromAugust 8 for the Centre to submit the report.
The government is expecting that a detailed plan is likely to be ready only by the end of the year after
consulting all the stakeholders. Putting monetary value to water, penalty for polluting the river and
controlling untreated sewage from getting into the 2,500km-long river are some of the key points
pondered upon by the Committee.
The government has decided to develop the river as a tourism destination, means of transport, fisheries
development and power generation.
A senior Ministry of Environment and Forests(MoEF) official explained that the government would have
to take a call on the number of projects that can be allowed upstream as the area is seismically sensitive.
“Secondly, we need to completely cut down on untreated sewerage and industrial waste from towns and
industry getting into the Ganga or its tributaries by setting treatment plants at all possible points.”
“Also their operation and maintenance has to be made monetary sustainable as you cannot depend on
grants.”
http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/Ministries-Spar-Over-Cleaning
ofGanga/2014/08/20/article2388382.ece>
India May Seek Private Investments to Fund Ganges Cleanup
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government may seek investments from companies and Indians living
overseas to help fund its national plan to rejuvenate the Ganges, India’s holiest river.
Work on cleaning the Ganges of industrial pollutants and raw sewage is expected to begin in six months,
Uma Bharti, India’s water minister, said today. With the Supreme Court asking days earlier that a road
map be devised to revive the Ganges, she said without disclosing how the water works would be financed
that the government plans to “resolve the issue of pollution on the banks of the river” within three years.
The world’s second-most populous nation, where per-person water availability fell 15 percent in the last
decade, also plans to link 30 rivers in the interior over the next 10 years to ensure water for drinking and
irrigation in areas suffering shortages, the minister said from New Delhi.
The linking of the Ken and Betwa rivers in northern India will be the first such project approved by the
government, with the aim to more equitably distribute river water in the country, Bharti said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-20/india-may-seek-private-investments-to-fund-gangescleanup.html
River Ganga will be free from most of its pollution within three years: Uma Bharti
NEW DELHI: Keeping Supreme Court's deadline in mind, the government may come out with a blue-print
of its Ganga rejuvenation plan by the weekend. This even as Union water resources minister Uma Bharti
on Wednesday emphasized that the river would be free from most of its pollution within three years.
"We want to rejuvenate the river in three years", Bharti said, assuring that her ministry would deal with
the pollution "caused by industries and sewage" in most urgent manner so that at least one stream of
Ganga would attain its "uninterrupted flow" by that time. She also announced that the year 2015-16
would be observed as "water conservation year" which would give an impetus to her government's
commitment to not only rejuvenate the Ganga along with other rivers across the country but also "save
water" by involving citizens through a public movement.
The minister, while inaugurating an international seminar on water risk and stewardship in India,
admitted that at some places "the sacred water of the river Ganga is not even fit for consumption by
animals" at present and set a target of three years to change the situation.
How her ministry would do all this in three years would be reflected in the blueprint for the river cleanup. The apex court had on August 13 set a two-week timeline for the government to come up with a road
map for making the longest river of the country pollution free.
It is expected that the blue-print will also incorporate a few important suggestions forwarded by
concerned citizens and experts to the government on its digital platform MyGov. It has already flagged
some of the suggestions which are learnt to have gained support during inter-ministerial consultations.
"The Ganga blueprint on river cleaning will eventually be replicated to clean all the polluted rivers across
the country", said an official, adding certain river-specific variation would obviously be there keeping in
mind topography and course of the rivers in different states.
Official records show that there are 150 polluted river stretches across the country with Maharashtra
being on top of the list with 28 such stretches on different rivers followed by Gujarat (19) and Uttar
Pradesh (12). The level of contamination in these stretches is so high that it cannot support any aquatic
life.
These stretches are located in almost all parts of the country except Jammu & Kashmir and couple of
Union Territories and northeastern states including Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram.
The official said though many projects were underway in states to clean those polluted stretches under
various central schemes, the blueprint on Ganga clean-up would provide a new dimension and approach
to those efforts under the new government.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/River-Ganga-will-be-free-from-most-of-its-pollution-withinthree-years-Uma-Bharti/articleshow/40500009.cms
Ganga water level precarious in Bihar
As the water level of the Ganga and many other rivers reached the danger mark at many places in Bihar,
the Water Resources Department (WRD) on Friday cautioned people about floods in the state.
WRD Secretary Dipak Kumar Singh said: “There is a need to remain watchful about floods till September
10 across the state since the Ganga has reached the danger mark in most places. Discharge to tributaries
has also been obstructed and may worsen the situation.” The Bagmati, Burhi Gandak, Kamla Balan and
Adhwara group of rivers have also reached danger levels at various places in the state. Singh said the
breaches in the embankments of the Kamla Balan and Gandak rivers, in the Darbhanga and West
Champaran districts respectively, had successfully been plugged in and strengthening work is being
conducted on a war footing. The WRD secretary added that all other embankments in the state are
secure.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, accompanied by WRD Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary,
conducted an aerial survey of the flood-affected Saharsa, Supaul and Madhepura districts on Friday to
get a first-hand account of the situation in the Kosi river belt. Manjhi also held a meeting with senior
officials of different departments and reviewed flood relief operations.
The Disaster Management Department (DMD) has launched full-fledged relief operations in the flood-hit
areas of Bihar, as evacuation of critically-affected people has come to a virtual halt with no reports of
further deaths or inundation. DMD Officer on Special Duty Vipin Kumar Rai said: “The focus has now
shifted to food grain and distribution of relief money. The list of flood-affected families is being prepared
and each of them is being given one quintal grains and Rs 2,000 compensation.” Rai said DMD teams had
already distributed 298 quintals of rice and wheat, 2,794 quintals of flattened rice, 42 quintals of jaggery
and 7 quintals of roasted gram powder and 23,326 polythene sheets among flood-affected families.
Altogether 14 districts - Nalanda, Darbhanga, Saharsa, Sheikhpura, Supaul, West Champaran, Madhubani,
Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Patna, Sheohar, Araria, Gopalganj and Khagaria – have been hit by floods this
monsoon. Of these, Nalanda, Darbhanga and Sheikhpura are the worst affected. Over 16 lakh people
have been affected in the floods, out of which 1.16 lakh have been evacuated. From a figure of 49,000
people in 113 relief camps, only 38,000 remain, as many have chosen to stay with their relatives or return
to their villages. The floods have affected over 2 lakh hectare of agricultural land, including one lakh
hectare of cropped land.The estimated crop damage is worth Rs 56.4 crore, according the DMD.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/427076/ganga-water-level-precarious-bihar.html
Ganga Polluters Come Under Watch
NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday ordered round-the-clock monitoring of effluents discharged by
over 700 industries on the banks of Ganga to contain pollution in the holy river. The industries have been
asked to put censors to monitor the flow of industrial waste into the river.
The decision was taken in a meeting between Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development
and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti and Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change
Prakash Javadekar.
“It has been decided to do realtime 24X7 monitoring of effluents discharged by industries along the
Ganga using censors. Industries will be asked to put censors to collect realtime data on industrial waste,”
said Javadekar adding that the Environment Ministry has already issued closure orders to 48 of 764
industries along the river under Section-5 of Environment Protection Act, 1986.
The Centre has also decided to hold meetings with the representatives of industries on the banks of the
river to prevent the flow of industrial waste into the river. Online monitoring of treatment of industrial
waste by the industries will also begin within six months. Industries will be encouraged to re-use the
treated water.
Revised guidelines on sand mining will also be issued to ensure scientific and sustainable sand mining.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/Ganga-Polluters-to-ComeUnderWatch/2014/08/23/article2393151.ece>
Toilet construction works along Ganges river ‘to be completed by March 2015’
Patna: As the campaign to keep the Ganges clean picks up momentum, the state government in Bihar has
now decided to construct toilets for villagers with the objective to keep the ‘sacred’ river free from
pollution.
The government believes the open defecation by the villagers along the banks of the Ganges has been
one of the main causes of polluting India’s national river, and says this problem could be tackled if toilets
were made available to the people at home.
The Ganges which enters in Bihar at Buxur passes through 11 other districts before moving into West
Bengal but most of the homes located on its bank do not have toilets, a survey conducted by the state
government in July this year has revealed.
According to a survey, more than half of the total 818,679 homes in 307 village panchayats across 12
districts settled along the banks of Ganges currently do not have toilets. The survey found that only
294,691 houses have toilets.
“We noticed the continuing practice of open defection by the villagers was one of the main reasons
behind polluting the national river and decided to arrange toilets for them on priority basis. We are
encouraging the villagers to get a toilet at home and save the Ganges,” Bihar’s Public Health and
Engineering Department minister Mahachandra Prasad Singh told the Gulf News in an interview.
Prime Minister’s project
“We thought we too must contribute significantly towards keeping the river clean when Prime Minister
Narendra Modi talked of launching project to keep the Ganges free form pollution,” the minister said
adding the toilet completion works would be completed by March 31, 2015on priority basis. “We hope to
achieve half of the target by December this year itself,” the minister said. According to him, apart from
individual toilets, the community toilets will be constructed in schools and anganwadi centres or
courtyard shelters.
As per a latest official report, 22 million households out of Bihar’s total population of over 110 million do
not have toilets, and taking the matter seriously, the state government has now barred those not having
toilets in their homes from contesting local bodies’ polls (panchayat and urban bodies’ elections) in a bid
to create awareness among the general masses about the importance of sanitation. The order was issued
in November last year.
The increasing level of water pollution of the Ganges remains a matter of serious concern, and according
to experts, its water is now unfit for both bathing and drinking.
“The bacterial load in the river water has alarmingly increased in the past five years, and as per our
assessment, the faecal coliform count in the stretch of the Ganges in Bihar has currently gone six times
higher than the permissible limit of 500 MPN (Most Probable Number) per 100ml,” said Professor
Ravindra Kumar Sinha, a member of the National Ganga River Basin Authority which was established by
the central government in February 2009 with the purpose to safeguard the drainage basin which feeds
water into the Ganges by protecting it from pollution or overuse.
According to Sinha who is also a zoology professor at Patna University, the river water is not fit for even
bathing. “There has been a general complains of itching on the body after taking a bath,” Verma said
adding serious efforts must be initiated to check both solid and liquid wastes being dumped into the
river.
The new Narendra Modi government in India while taking the Ganga cleaning issue very seriously has
made initial allocation of more than Rs20 billion as part of an integrated Ganga conservation plan called
‘Namami Gange’.
http://gulfnews.com/news/world/india/toilet-construction-works-along-ganges-river-to-be-completedby-march-2015-1.1375522
Environmentalists warn NDA plan to 'open up' Ganga could have 'hazardous' consequences for holy
river's dolphins
The NDA government's plan to develop the Ganga as a waterway for commercial navigation could undo
all efforts to rejuvenate the holy river, environmentalists have warned.
River ecologists have asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti to
exercise all caution and "abandon such a plan" because it could have "hazardous, irreversible
consequences" for the already threatened ecology of the river.
Citing potential hazards arising from the use of large vessels in inland waterways, environmentalists have
claimed that this is bound to cause oil spills and a large amount of waste dumping, thus further increasing
the pollution instead of curbing it.
The experts pointed to countries like the US, where oil spills from vessels contribute the most to the
pollution of inland waterways.
In Europe too, the issue of oil spills in navigable waterways has been acute.
Ecosystem
Most of the oils and chemicals in American waterways come from refuelling, boat maintenance and bilge
discharges.
A single pint of oil released into the water is said to cover one acre of a water body, impacting the
drinking water and whole ecosystem, they said.
The international models are far from perfect and should not be blindly implemented without
ascertaining all the possible consequences, the environmentalists said.
Speaking about the NDA plans for the river's redevelopment, Union Water Resources Minister Uma
Bharti said: 'We will mix tradition with technology and we believe that modernisation without
westernisation is possible'
Aquatic wildlife experts, too, have warned about the possible loss of the critical wildlife, notably the
Ganges dolphin, an indicator species of the river and country's national aquatic animal that is found in
some stretches of the river.
Since dredging for developing a waterway entails deep and wide excavation, it destroys all the aquatic
flora and fauna.
"Dredging is dangerous and is sure to remove all the flora and fauna wherever it is done.
"Dolphins require deep and static waters to thrive. They are almost certain to be displaced or
exterminated altogether.
"The habitat of dolphins, along with gharials, crocodiles and other species, is going to suffer.
"Aquatic life cycles and food chains will be disturbed altogether," Sandeep Behera, member of the
Dolphins Committee in the National River Conservation Directorate, told Mail Today.
Navigation plan
Manoj Misra of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan said: "A thorough environment assessment for such a navigation
plan needs to be conducted. Besides, there needs to be an environment management plan in place.
"Their priority should be to have ecological flows in the river and revive it first before conceiving any
other plan.
"They need to have regulatory provisions well in advance rather than waiting for disasters to happen.
They need to be preactive instead of proactive," Misra said.
Ravi Agarwal of the NGO Toxic Links, too, has warned of potentially grave consequences of dredging in
shallow and polluted stretches of the river.
"The first step should be to restore the flows of river. Navigation must be avoided in some of the already
most polluted stretches, where the situation could further worsen from oil spills and waste dumps," he
said.
The Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Ministry is framing a plan to conduct dredging to create a
waterway 45 metres wide and three metres deep for the movement of passengers and goods between
Hooghly and Varanasi on the Ganga.
Eleven terminals are to be built at every 100 km.
The transport of coal, fertilizers and foodgrain will be explored at a later stage.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2732838/Environmentalists-warn-NDA-plandredge-Ganga-hazardous-consequences-holy-rivers-wildlife.html
Tolly's Nullah set to get facelift
Tolly's Nullah, also known as Adi Ganga is slated to get a facelift. The 16 km long water channel which
starts as an offshoot of the river Hooghly from Kidderpore and ends at Sonarpur in south 24 parganas is
in urgent need for a facelift. More so after the Metro railway extension project which has forced Tolly's
Nullah to lose its flow of water after construction of pillars on the canal bed. Besides, the Nullah has not
been dredged for years and the embankment of the nullah has been occupied by encroachers.
After the chief minister Mamata Banerjee held a meeting with the state urban development minister
Firhad Hakim, mayor Sovan Chatterjee, state irrigation minister Rajib Banerjee and chief secretary Sanjay
Mitra to chalk out a plan for revival of Tolly's Nullah, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation was asked to take
responsibility of making plans for upgrading the nullah and executing the job in coordination with
different state government agencies. The state government has approached the World Bank to fund the
ambitious project through National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA). Though the state irrigation and
waterways department has been the custodian of Tolly's Nullah, in a recent development, the KMC has
taken over the maintenance of the nullah. A separate cell has been opened and a nodal officer has been
appointed for running of the cell.
In a preliminary plan, it has been decided that the entire 16 km length of Tolly's Nullah will be reexcavated to get back the flow of water. In fact, Tolly's Nullah or the Adi Ganga was a dying creek in early
1700s. But, between 1775-77 Major William Tolly ordered the re-excavation of the dead bed of Adi
Ganga from its confluence with the Hooghly at Hastings. However, the comprehensive pollution
abatement in Tolly's Nullah is of immediate concern to the environmentalists. After discussing with the
state government irrigation department, it has been decided that the civic body would build a number of
drainage treatment plants along the Tolly';s Nullah to save the canal from pollution. Currently, sewage
water gets discharged directly into Tolly's Nullah and thus the canal water gets highly polluted.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Kolkata/Tollys-Nullah-set-to-getfacelift/articleshow/40808289.cms
Rising water level in River Ganges force people to leave their house in Varanasi
Varanasi, Aug 12 (ANI): People staying near the temples situated on the banks of River Ganges flowing
through Varanasi city of Uttar Pradesh left their homes as flood waters streamed in through their houses.
Residents claim that rains in the last four to five days have led to increase in water levels of Ganges by 20
feet. A priest and a resident of Varanasi, Prabhu Sahrani said even ferry services in the River Ganges has
stopped since past week due to fear of drowning. Heavy rains in June last year caused rivers and lakes to
burst their banks, killing almost 6,000 people in the Uttarakhand.
http://www.aninews.in/videogallery8/26680-rising-water-level-in-river-ganges-force-people-to-leavetheir-house-in-varanasi.html
Courts tell Modi government to deliver roadmap for Ganges cleanup
NEW DELHI, Aug 13 — India’s top court today accused the new Hindu nationalist government of failing to
move on its promise to clean up the sewage-ridden, sacred river Ganges.
The Supreme Court urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to deliver a road map on its
highly-publicised pledge to restore the Ganges, which is revered by Hindus and is believed to cleanse sins.
“You are showing no urgency to protect Ganga. Are you saving the holy river?” Justice TS Thakur asked
the government’s top legal adviser.
“This is a part of your manifesto. What is the government doing about it?
“You are showing no urgency in this matter, only in other matters. Issues that ought to be on the
backburner are out on the frontburner,” he added.
Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar had appeared in the New Delhi court to seek an adjournment of the case
lodged by petitioners seeking a halt to the discharge of waste into the river.
Instead the judge ordered the government to return to court in two weeks with a status report on its
promise.
Deeply religious Modi offered prayers by the Ganges to underline his Hindu nationalist roots a day after
his landslide election victory in May.
Modi also announced the “Ganga Mission” and appointed a minister charged with cleaning up the 2,500kilometre (1,553-mile) long waterway, which has long been hit by untreated sewage and industrial waste.
Successive governments have attempted with limited success to restore the Ganges, which snakes across
northern India from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. The waterway attracts flocks of tourists and
devout pilgrims who come to bathe. — AFP
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/world/article/courts-tell-modi-government-to-deliver-roadmap-toclean-up-ganges#sthash.FJKjKC2g.dpuf
On PM's Pet Project to Clean Up Ganga, Move Faster, Says Supreme Court
The 2,500 km river stretching from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal is full of industrial effluent and
untreated sewage.
New Delhi: The government has been given two weeks to explain how it plans to clean up the Ganga,
with irate Supreme Court judges asking, "Are you saving the Holy River? You are showing no urgency in
this matter, only in other matters. " (Germany Keen to Advise, Assist India for Ganga River Clean-Up)
That remark was seen as a jibe at the government's attempts to change the law on how judges are
appointed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was elected in May to Parliament from the 3,000-year-old riverside city of
Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. "Now it is time to do my bit for Maa Ganga," he said after his victory in a
speech from one of the ghats, "Maa Ganga is waiting for her son to free her from pollution." (All Rivers as
Divine as Ganga, Says Uma Bharti)
The Supreme Court has been dealing since 1985 with a Public Interest Litigation or PIL that demands the
restoration of a river that has been reduced to a sewage line. (Demand in Rajya Sabha for a
Comprehensive Plan to Clean Rivers)
Mr Modi's government announced an additional Rs. 2,040 crores for a new "Ganga Mission" in its first
budget .
Though Hindus bathe in the Ganga in an act of ritual purification, the 2,500 km river stretching from the
Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal is full of industrial effluent and untreated sewage, its banks strewn with
garbage. (Ganga Action Plan May Be Extended to Other Rivers: Government)
In June, Uma Bharti, Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation said she
needed a few weeks to come up with detailed proposals for the project, dubbed "Ganga Manthan" manthan signifies a deep contemplation and churning of facts that leads to enlightenment. (Ganga
Rejuvenation Plan to Commercially Exploit the River: Scientists)
India's first highly-publicised effort to clean its most sacred river was in 1986, when the Ganga Action
Plan was launched. (Expertise from IITs to be Utilised for Cleaning Ganga: Uma Bharti)
Environmental activists estimate thousands of crores have been poured into clean-up efforts over the last
three decades with few, if any, results.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/on-pm-s-pet-project-to-clean-up-ganga-move-faster-says-supremecourt-575310
http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/sc-gave-2week-time-to-union-government-for-gangacleanup-roadmap-1408009231-1
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/why-dip-in-interest-on-purifying-ganga-sc/article6312482.ece
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/140813/nation-current-affairs/article/reminding-modi-poll-promisessc-seeks-roadmap-cleaning-ganga
http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/government-not-showing-any-urgency-in-cleaning-gangasc_954279.html
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/environment/developmental-issues/dont-adopt-upa-approachon-cleaning-ganga-sc-tells-nda/articleshow/40223088.cms
Ganga posing threat to several Bhojpur villages
ARA: Erosion by river Ganga is posing threat to a number of villages under Barhara and Shahpur blocks in
Bhojpur district.
The existence of only water treatment plant at village Mauzampur is also in danger as Ganga is flowing
just beside its boundarywall and if anti-erosion drive is not started on war footing immediately, it might
disappear in the Ganga and people will be destined to drink contaminated water.
Thousands of villagers under Barahara and Shahpur blocks are living under constant fear as the water of
swollen Ganga has started entering a number of villages.
Villages like Dasuchak, Gora Ka Dera, English Chain Chhapara have disappeared due to erosion by Ganga,
which started in 1969, while villages like Sohara, Tribhuani, Majhauli, Hetampur, Khawaspur, Nurpur,
Gyanpur, Neknam Tola, are facing similar threat.
The Sone had also wreaked havoc at Semara, Bindgawa, Fuha, Bhatuchakia and other villages and over
50,000 people of these villages are still bearing the brunt of the flood. Thousands of displaced of Sohara,
Tribhuani, Hetampur, Majhauli are still living on the dams.
At present, flood water has entered the fields of Mauzampur, Nurpur, Bhaisahia, Dudhaha, Basantpur,
Jagwalia under Barahara block, villages located between Buxar-Koelwar dam like Damodarpur, Jawainiya,
Gangapur, Nandpur, Bhusaula, Lakshsu Tola, Sarangpur, Suremanpur, Chakki, Nauranga, Laloo Ka Dera,
and others under Shahpur block damaging the standing crops in thousands of acres.
Bhojpur DM Pankaj Kumar Pal, a team of flood experts of the state government, superintending engineer,
executive engineer, flood control, and other officials visited Mauzampur and Piparpanti villages under
Barahara block to review the situation.
The DM said erosion is going on 150 m in length and 15m wide at Mauzampur and anti-erosion work has
already been ordered. Ara SDO Anil Kumar confirmed rise in water level of Ganga and said administration
is helpless in carrying out doing anti-erosion work in the absence of any embankment in these two
villages.
Devendra Jha, chairman, flood fighting force, said they will try to change the stream of river with the
pitching of GEO bags and bamboos to weaken the current.
Executive engineer, flood control, Suresh Singh said anti-erosion drive would be launched after flood
water recedes. Shiva Nath Singh, Baliram Singh, Harendra Singh of Mauzampur, on the other hand, rued
their lot.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Ganga-posing-threat-to-several-Bhojpurvillages/articleshow/40297541.cms
Officials fail to attend meet to save Ganga ghats
Varanasi: The seriousness of the government machinery in executing plans was exposed at a meeting
convened by the irrigation department here on Thursday. Many officials failed to attend the meeting.
The meeting was meant to discuss the shifting of tortoise sanctuary and saving the ghats of Banaras from
erosion. It was a follow up exercise of the meeting convened by the chief secretary in Lucknow on June
19. A committee comprising engineers, IIT professors and officials of different departments was
constituted to examine the issue and submit a report for action. The eight-member team is headed the
chief engineer (Sone), irrigation department.
Chief engineer (Sone) Pradeep Kumar said Thursday's meeting was called to discuss the study of erosion
under the ghat steps, protection of ghats, permission for sand mining in tortoise sanctuary and its
shifting. But no official from forest department and Ganga Flood Control Commission (GFCC), Patna, took
part in it.
For the past several years, local experts, river scientists, boatmen and different organization had been
trying to draw the attention of authorities towards the adverse impact of tortoise sanctuary, like the
increasing height of sand bed on the opposite bank of the river, which started posing threat to the ghats.
Taking note of it, the district administration formed a committee comprising engineers and officials of
different departments, including Central Water Commission, PWD, irrigation, Varanasi Municipal
Corporation, Varanasi Development Authority, forest and also experts from civil engineering department
of Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, in 2013. The committee surveyed the 7-km
stretch of Ganga between Ramnagar Fort and Malviya Bridge, which was declared Tortoise Sanctuary on
December 21, 1989 under the Ganga Action Plan launched in 1986. The Wildlife (Conservation) Act 1972
restricts sand mining or any other activity that violates its norm in the sanctuary area. It resulted in
increasing the depth of river on the ghat side and erosion under the steps of ghats.
The increasing height of sand dunes on the opposite bank of the river started threatening the riverfront
that has an unbroken chain of ghats. It caused erosion under the stone steps that posed a serious threat
to historic buildings. According to river scientist and retired professor of BHU UK Choudhary, a major
portion of riverfront in Manikarnika Ghat area would cave in if no remedial measure is taken urgently.
The pressure on the ghats could be ease by removing the sand deposited along the opposite bank.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/Officials-fail-to-attend-meet-to-save-Gangaghats/articleshow/40282886.cms
Ganga continues to rise, may cross red mark today
Varanasi: The water level of the Ganga may cross the danger mark in Ballia by Tuesday morning, the
swelling river continued its rising trend on Monday right from Allahabad to Ballia.
The engineers of Middle Ganga Division-III, Central Water Commission wrote to the district
administration of Ballia and Ghazipur about the rising trend of the river with forecast that the river would
cross the danger mark in Ballia on Tuesday morning.
In Varanasi the water level of the Ganga recorded an increase of 1.19mts on Monday in 24 hours and
3.31mts in last 48 hours. Though the river was flowing 2.17mts below the danger mark, most of the ghats
and low areas were inundated. The flood in the Ganga also increased the water level of its tributary
Varuna forcing the people living in low areas along the river to go for safer places. The people living in
Nakkhighat, Teliana, Saraiyya along Varuna rivers are the worst sufferers.
Meanwhile, the district authorities including district magistrate and ADM (city) made visits to floodaffected areas to take stock of the situation. All precautionary measures were being taken to provide
relief to affected areas, said the ADM (city) MP Singh. The flood control unit has been sensitised to keep
watch on the situation.
According to the flood bulletin of CWC, Ganga was flowing just 0.48mt below the danger mark in Ballia at
8am on Monday, and the rising trend indicated that it would cross the danger mark on Tuesday. In last 24
hours the water level increased up to 1.88mts in Ballia and 1.78mts in Ghazipur.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Varanasi/Ganga-continues-to-rise-may-cross-red-marktoday/articleshow/40070374.cms
Will Narendra Modi be able to infuse new life into dead Ganga?
Cleaning up of the Ganga found top slot in Budget 2014 - Narendra Modi government's maiden Budget
and special emphasis was laid on cleaning the 2,525-km river. Even a separate ministry for the river
Ganga under Uma Bharti was formed. But on Wednesday, the Supreme Court pulled up the Modi
government over the cleaning of the river Ganga which was also in the BJP's election manifesto. Telling
Centre to keep the issue of cleaning Ganga on front burner, the apex court said that the government is
not showing any urgency in Ganga protection measures. What Supreme Court has said • Taking a potshot
at the government on cleaning the Ganga, the Supreme Court said no urgency was seen in protecting the
river. • The court told the solicitor general: "Are you saving the holy river. You are showing no urgency in
this matter. But only in other matters." •
The SC has asked the Centre to furnish a roadmap for
cleaning river Ganga and submit it within two weeks. What BJP manifesto for 2014 said for Ganga •BJP
commits to ensure the cleanliness, purity and uninterrupted flow of the Ganga on priority. •
A
massive 'Clean Rivers Programme' will be launched across the country driven by people's participation.
What Modi Government proposed in Budget 2014 •
The finance minister earmarked Rs 2,037 crore
for the cleanup and conservation of the river Ganga. • An integrated Ganga development project called
the 'Namami Gange' was also announced in the Budget 2014. • Setting up of an "NRI Fund for Ganga"
was also announced to finance special projects related to the river. •
A sum of Rs 100 crore has been
earmarked for development and beautification of Ghats (river fronts) on river Ganga. • A
special
ministry for cleaning river Ganga was created by Prime Minister Narendra Modi which is being headed by
Uma Bharti. Money spent so far •
Since the Central Government started GAP in 1985, a total of Rs
916 crores had been spent till 2009 for the purpose of cleaning Ganga. • In 2009, it was announced that
Rs 15,000 crores more will be spent for the Clean Ganga campaign under the river development fund. •
The last three decades have seen an allocation of over Rs 20,000 crore through the two phases of
Ganga Action Plan (GAP I & II) to clean up the river. The Ganga cleaning programmes so far •
Ganga
Action Plan (GAP) 1 & 2 •
National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) • Ganga
River
Basin
Management Plan (GRBMP) • Various Save Ganga schemes were also launched in these years. The
reason behind pollution in the river • According to the Government of India, 2.9 billion litres of sewage
is discharged daily into the Ganga. •
According to a report, in addition to cremation, sewage of 27
class I cities and towns and effluents from 137 major industries are the main source of pollution of the
river. • Domestic waste such as defecation, untreated industrial waste, and pollution during religious
events are major reasons. •
Every day 1.7 billion litres of such waste run into the river. •
Sewage
constitutes the largest portion (80 per cent) of the pollution load followed by pollution caused by
industrial discharge agricultural activities.
http://news.oneindia.in/feature/will-narendra-modi-be-able-infuse-new-life-into-dead-ganga1502019.html
Ganga clean up: members of panel differ on ways to do it
Consensus eludes on many issues within a committee of secretaries set up a month ago to find ways for
prime minister Narendra Modi's pet project of cleansing river Ganga.
The issue of flood plain management and viability of inland water ways have marked disagreements
within departments, who are giving divergent views.
While some departments favour reclaiming flood land for the burgeoning population, others argue to
leave it unattended to provide a space for the river. Also there has been no agreement on the viability of
inland water ways, though some believe that navigation would automatically de-silt the river and provide
economical transport system.
However, there is a near consensus putting a stamp on building dams on the river and its tributaries, in
order to allow minimum ecological flow in the river.
"Over half a dozen meetings have already taken place but process is not yet over. It will definitely take
some more time to reach consensus and finalise the plans. But one issue where is complete consensus is
that to rejuvenate Ganga and ensuring a minimum ecological flow by charting a concrete policy on
dams," a senior government officer, who is part of the committee told dna.
He said government would have to take a decisive call on number of projects that can be allowed on
Ganga on upstream as the area is seismically very sensitive. "We still do not know what kind of pressure
is building on the Indian tectonic plate due to those big dams," the official said. The issue may draw much
controversy as, not only the public sector, but many private players are engaged in building dams and
producing electricity in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Another issue before the committee is to take a decision on the flow of untreated sewerage and
industrial waste from towns and industry areas into Ganga or its tributaries. The operation and
maintenance of sewage plants has to be economically sustainable. The committee has been studying a
model in Tami Nadu, where entire sewerage system, driven by municipalities, is funded by the
contribution from people. Every household pays less than Rs100 per month for sewerage treatment.
A section of the committee is also of the view that a strong political will was needed for a long-term, say
20 year plan, to clean Ganga. The committee has also underlined a fact, that without involvement of
people, no progress can be made. There is also a clamour on harvesting rain water for recharging ground
water in order to decrease pressure on Ganga. "Most importantly people at large, state governments,
farmers and industry have to be brought on board," the senior official said.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-ganga-clean-up-members-of-panel-differ-on-ways-to-do-it2010609
PM Modi heads superbody to drive Mission Ganga
The NDA government’s policy to clean the Ganga — a key mission — is likely to be administered by a
powerful overarching entity headed by the Prime Minister, possibly backed by an enabling law, with the
private sector playing a vital role in delivery, according to a preliminary plan.
The single entity could well be a revamped National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), which as of
now oversees all matters related to the river. But it would be a body with a much wider mandate to
“coalesce” myriad activities currently scattered across departments. As a first step, the NGRBA has
already been shifted from the environment ministry to the water resources ministry.
A third of India’s 1.2 billion people live along the 2,510-km sacred river. Although the Ganga is an icon of
the Hindu faith, it is dying a slow death due to filth, untreated sewage and industrial runoff. Only about
45% of the 11 billion litres of sewage from 181 towns along the river is treated.
Private-sector firms, especially those specialising in water technology, will be entrusted the job of
running “last-mile” treatment plants because past experience has shown that local government bodies
utterly failed to manage such projects. As a result, a large number of “expensive assets” have fallen into
“disuse”, according to a review. Firms would be given strict targets of water volumes to be cleaned. A key
aspect would be to ensure assets already created do not go waste.
A revenue model for the private sector to recover costs in the long run is being worked on. For example,
biogas and rural electrification from water-based assets could be potential revenue sources.
A panel of secretaries in the ministries of water resources, environment, shipping and tourism are
currently chalking out the strategy for water resources minister Uma Bharti, who will then place it before
the prime minister’s office for approval.
Re-doing of all major ghats, the labyrinthine centres through which people access the river, will form a
critical component. In Kanpur, the main source of industrial waste in the northern Ganga, the city’s
industrial set up will be overhauled. For example, of the 37 tanneries in that city, only 20 are legal. The
illegal ones will be shut and legal ones will get help with managing their effluents.
An expert being consulted, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was a good idea to get Hindu
leaders involved because they were key stakeholders, without whom the public could not be sensitized.
Bharti had recently organized a “Ganga Manthan” in which religious leaders, experts and scientists had
participated.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/clean-up-act-superbody-headed-by-pm-modi-to-drivemission-ganga/article1-1253158.aspx
Ganga water supply stops as silting forces canal gates to shut
Ghaziabad residents protest for regular Ganga water supplyUP government reshuffles 9 IAS officers,
including two district magis...Ghaziabad Metro pact likely next weekFrom mid-July, extra Ganga water for
Ghaziabad housesIndirapuram, Vaishali residents can pay municipal taxes online
NOIDA: Ganga water supply to Noida and Ghaziabad is likely to get affected in the next three days after
gates of the Upper Ganga Canal in Haridwar were closed on Friday to stop silt from entering the canal as
water level of the river rose following heavy rains in Uttarakhand.
The two cities will have to depend on the underground water system for their daily needs, like they were
doing before August 15 when Ganga water supply began.
Water levels in the canal, which brings Ganga water from Haridwar to the water treatment in Pratap
Vihar, Ghaziabad, have receded in the past 36 hours. "Supply to the Pratap Vihar water treatment plant is
likely to stop completely by Sunday morning, leaving no water for distribution in Noida and Ghaziabad,"
said R K Agarwal, project manager, Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam (UPJN).
Canal gates in Haridwar will be reopened once water levels of Ganga recede, said UPJN officials.
However, it will take at least 48 hours for Ganga water to reach the Pratap Vihar plant once the gates
reopen and Ganga water supply is unlikely to resume in Noida and Ghaziabad immediately even if the
gates reopen on Sunday.
Noida Authority has however assured that necessary steps will be taken to ensure potable water supply
in the city does not get affected. "Authority has adequate Ranney wells and tube wells as alternate water
sources," said Samakant Srivastava, project engineer (outer), Noida Authority.
The Ghaziabad Development Authority and municipal corporation officials meanwhile said a certain
amount of water from tube wells at Pratap Vihar plant will be supplied to Trans-Hindon ares of the city.
"Tube wells at the plant will be pressed into service till normal water supply resumes," said additional
municipal commissioner D K Sinha.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Noida/Ganga-water-supply-stops-as-silting-forces-canal-gatesto-shut/articleshow/40326376.cms
The Battle by the Bay of Bengal
In the 1980s, when there was only one state-run television channel in Bangladesh, a Philips
advertisement became very popular. In the advertisement, a family is eating dinner, but the light in the
room is so dim they can’t pick out the bones in their fish. The mother asks her son to go and fetch
another bulb. Suddenly, the modest clay-walled kitchen is illuminated in a bright yellow glow. The man
smiles widely and says, “Macher raja ilish, ar batir raja Philips!” Which means, the king of fish is the ilish,
and the king of light is Philips.
It may seem strange to use fish to sell light bulbs, but one can never underestimate a Bengali’s love of the
thin-boned ilish — a strong-smelling member of the herring family, notoriously difficult to eat but
considered a treasured delicacy. And if the ilish is the king of fish, then the river it swims in is equally
prized.
With miles of coastline, including what is reputed to be the longest stretch of sandy beach in the world,
you might think that we would revere the sea as much as we do the river. That the pomfret, say, would
be as beloved as the ilish. Given a choice, though, the river and its fish always come first for Bengalis.
Rivers have an outsize significance for us partly because Bangladesh has battled its powerful neighbor,
India, for water rights, almost from the moment our country gained its independence from Pakistan in
1971. Two of Bangladesh’s major rivers — the Ganges and the Brahmaputra — flow from India’s territory.
When dams are built in India, the villages downstream in Bangladesh become arid.
The conflict over water began in 1975, when India completed the Farakka dam, which is situated less
than 10 miles from the border and diverts water from the Ganges to the Hooghly basin. Finally, in 1996,
during her first term as prime minister, Sheikh Hasina signed the Ganges treaty, a 30-year water-sharing
agreement with India that recognized Bangladesh’s rights.
Fast forward 18 years, and relations between India and Bangladesh remain fraught. Now that Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party are in power in India, the pending Teesta water-
sharing agreement, which would secure for Bangladesh a fair share of water from the Teesta and
Mahananda Rivers, is in doubt. During his election campaign, Mr. Modi vowed to deport illegal
Bangladeshi immigrants — pandering to Hindu anxiety about a Muslim onslaught. Not that Bangladeshi
attitudes to India are without some cultural baggage. There is a strong current of anti-India prejudice in
Bangladesh, a current understandable in the context of a small country nervous about its mighty
neighbor — what the political anthropologist James Scott would call a “weapon of the weak” — but
behind which is a deep-seated prejudice against Hindus. As we witnessed earlier this year, postelection
violence in Bangladesh often includes land-grabbing, rape and the terrorization of minority communities.
So with a Hindu nationalist government next door, our water-sharing troubles with India are far from
over. It has come as something of a surprise, then, that Bangladesh recently pulled off a considerable
diplomatic coup.
In July, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague awarded Bangladesh about 7,500 square miles,
or about three-quarters, of the sea area of the Bay of Bengal. The verdict gives Bangladesh rights to
explore extensive oil and gas reserves that were previously held by India and could now turn around
Bangladesh’s economic fortunes.
The ruling had a deep resonance. It was a British cartographer, Sir Cyril Radcliffe, who was tasked with
delineating the borders of India and Pakistan at the time of the 1947 partition — and his original map
hung in the courtroom during the deliberations. Philippe Sands, a British lawyer representing Bangladesh,
told me: “It reminded all present of the historic endeavor in which we were engaged, the importance of
the moment, the dangers of getting it wrong.”
Bangladesh’s triumph took a combination of skillful diplomacy and astute legal maneuvering. First, India
had to be persuaded to accept that the judgment of the court would be binding, which it did, voluntarily.
Then the lawyers appointed by the Bangladeshi government had to prove that the unusual coastline of
the Bay of Bengal meant that special rules should apply to Bangladesh in the case of sea rights, which
they succeeded in doing.
Bangladesh stood up to India and won. Yet it was a quiet victory, achieved with patience and without
naval face-offs or chest-thumping declarations to the press. The hope is that future negotiations will
follow this example. If issues can be resolved behind the scenes, with little bombast, then in time our
relationship with India may shed its tinge of prejudice.
The sea’s boundary has been decided in Bangladesh’s favor, but the rivers’ fate still hangs in the balance.
Whether India will accept this verdict amicably, or perhaps retaliate by refusing to sign the Teesta
agreement, is yet to be seen. It would be a shame if we lost our rights to the river because we won the
battle for the sea.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/04/opinion/the-battle-by-the-bay-of-bengal.html?_r=0
Flood threat looms as Ganga rises by 20mts in 24 hrs
ALLAHABAD: Swollen tributaries of Ganga and Yamuna have raised flood fear in the city. People have
already started shifting to safer places. Farmers of low-lying areas of Phaphamau, including Phaphamau
village, Morhu, Chakia, Bahamalpur Rangpura and Jaitwar, have starting making mud dams to prevent
river water entering into their fields.
The danger level of both Ganga and Yamuna is fixed at 84.72 metres in the city. On Monday, Yamuna had
already breached the 77.35-metre mark. Ganga's level too has increased by 20 metres in the last 24
hours and is currently flowing at 79.04 metres at Phaphamau and at 76.74 metres at Chatnag.
In-charge of district flood control room Srikrishna said, "Ganga and Yamuna are still flowing below the
danger mark but can overrun it a couple of days." The district administration has already sounded alert
among the department concerned regarding the flood threat.
As per Central Water Commission report, incessant rain in several regions of Madhya Pradesh in the past
24-hours has led to increase in water level of three prominent tributaries of Ganga and Yamuna,
including Ken, Betwa and Chambal.
Following the migration of people to safer places, the district flood control room on Monday shot off a
letter to nagar nigam, sub-divisional magistrates and tehsildars asking them to make arrangements for
any eventuality.
"We are in regular contact with authorities who have been asked to prepare for any eventuality," said
Srikrishna.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/allahabad/Flood-threat-looms-as-Ganga-rises-by-20mts-in-24hrs/articleshow/39720431.cms
20 feared drowned as overloaded boat capsizes in Ganga in Varanasi
VARANASI: More than 20 people were feared drowned while another 22 were rescued when an
overloaded motor-operated boat capsized in a swollen Ganga in Varanasi on Tuesday afternoon. National
Disaster Response Force and PAC flood unit were pressed into rescue operations. One person has been
arrested and a magisterial probe ordered into the incident. The boat owner is absconding. One body had
been fished out till the filing of the report.
As the news spread of the tragedy spread, thousands of people gathered at the Gaangpur Ghat in
Mirzapur where the boat was headed. Mirzapur DM Anil Dhingra, SP R P S Yadav and SDM (Chunar)
Ashok Kanojia, who reached the ghat had to face locals' ire over alleged delay in launching rescue
operations.
Police had to use force to disperse the villagers. Varanasi commissioner RM Srivastava along with DM and
SSP of Varanasi was camping at Betawar Ghat in Varanasi to monitor the rescue operations.
Reports said on Tuesday the Ganga was flowing five metres above normal level in Mirzapur and four
metres above the level in Varanasi as the boat headed towards Gaangpur in Mirzapur from Betawar Ghat
in Varanasi. A few survivors who managed to swim to safety at Gaangpur side said that apart from 54
men and women that included students of different schools and colleges, the boatman had also allowed
two bulls on board before the boat left Betawar Ghat at Bachhawa Chatti under Rohania police station in
Varanasi.
Survivors further claimed that as the boat reached midstream amidst high current, the two bulls went
berserk causing the boat to overturn and capsize. However, commissioner and district magistrate of
Varanasi Pranjal Yadav claimed that only 40 persons hailing from Dharmalpur, Shivpur, Badhahi,
Govindpur and Bela villages of Mirzapur were on board.
The commissioner said that search operations were underway at three places -- Gaangpur in Mirzapur,
Samneghat and Malviya bridge in Varanasi -- as bodies could be swept away due to strong current. He
said that the actual reason behind the tragedy would be ascertained in the magisterial probe and added
that the first priority of the administration was to rescue the victims and retrieve the bodies. "All efforts
are being made to fish out the bodies," he added.
Apart from private divers, teams of National Disaster Response Force and flood companies of PAC
launched search drives from Chunar (Mirzapur) to Malviya bridge in Varanasi while big nets were
arranged at Samneghat and Malviya bridge, he said.
IG (Varanasi zone) Prakash D said that process to identify the rescued and missing persons was
continuing. Regarding confusion over the number of passengers on board the ill-fated boat, he said that
the actual picture would be clear after the end of the search operation.
A youth Jitendra was first to swim to Gaangpur ghat but his mother Hirawati, who had gone to Varanasi
for treatment, was missing. Similarly, Gauri was saved while her daughter Kiran (30) and three-year-old
granddaughter were missing.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/20-feared-drowned-as-overloaded-boat-capsizes-inGanga-in-Varanasi/articleshow/39705749.cms
Will Ganga Lab get a fresh lease of life?
At a time when the government’s focus seems to be on cleaning the Ganga, one niche laboratory in IITBenaras Hindu University (BHU) established to study various characteristics of this holy river over two
decades ago now stands locked for want of teachers, students and funds.
A total of 54 M.Tech and three Ph.D.s in 26 years is what the Ganga Research Centre — popularly called
Ganga Laboratory — produced between 1985 and 2011 before it was shut down as the professor who
established it retired. Almost all the work done in the research centre revolves around saving the Ganga
from further decline.
“It pains me when I see the lab which I established by spending the money given for my research projects
lying unused for three years now. I have approached all top authorities urging them to revive the lab,”
Professor U.K. Choudhary told The Hindu.
Prof. Choudhary, who taught at IIT-BHU’s Civil Engineering Department till his retirement in 2011, is the
creator of this unique lab. “The money I got from various central and foreign agencies for research on the
Ganga was spent on building this lab that has seen students carrying out various project specifically on
the management and cleaning of the Ganga,” says the Professor who is one of the few people in India
with Ph.D. in River Engineering.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/will-ganga-lab-get-a-fresh-lease-oflife/article6285077.ece
SC asks Centre to apprise about steps taken for cleaning Ganga
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to apprise it about the steps taken for cleaning up of
the river Ganga for which the NDA government has created a new ministry.
A bench, comprising justices T S Thakur and Adarsh Kumar Goel, has sought the assistance of Solicitor
General Ranjit Kumar in the matter which is listed on August 13.
The hearing was adjourned yesterday as the files pertaining to the river Ganga was earlier handled by the
Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF).
During the hearing, the apex court was informed by the government that the National Ganga River Basin
Authority (NGRBA), the nodal agency involved in the clean Ganga mission, has been transferred from
MoEF to the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
The issue of cleaning up of river Ganga has been monitored by the apex court and several applications
have been filed.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/sc-asks-centre-to-apprise-about-steps-taken-for-cleaningganga_952716.html
Ganga body transferred to water resources ministry
With clean Ganga mission in mind, govt has transferred the National Ganga River Basin Authority
(NGRBA) from the environment ministry to water resources ministry.
NEW DELHI: Aligning its ambitious clean Ganga mission with the goal of overall development of the river,
the government has formally transferred its nodal agency - National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA)
- from the environment ministry to water resources ministry.
The transfer is in tune with the government's recent move to expand the role of the water resources
ministry by adding 'Ganga rejuvenation' and 'river development' in it. The ministry had got new
nomenclature with these additions when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet was formed in May.
"All issues related to conservation, development, management and abatement of pollution in river Ganga
and its tributaries will also be looked after by the ministry of water resources, river development and
Ganga rejuvenation," said an official statement on Monday.
Earlier, these tasks were the responsibilities of the environment ministry which was also the
administrative ministry of the NGRBA.
The NGRBA was constituted in February, 2009 when the then UPA-II government had given Ganga the
status of a 'national river'. The Authority is a planning, financing, monitoring and coordinating body of the
centre and the states.
The objective of the NGRBA is to ensure effective abatement of pollution and conservation of the river
Ganga by adopting a river basin approach for comprehensive planning and management The Authority
has both regulatory and developmental functions.
Since its inception, 76 schemes (70 infrastructure investment, 5 institutional development and one
relating to implementation support) have been sanctioned by the Authority. These schemes are being
implemented in 48 towns along the river in different states at a total cost of over Rs 5004 crore.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Ganga-body-transferred-to-water-resourcesministry/articleshow/39655948.cms
Clean up India: River Ganga dying a slow death in Varanasi
In the run up to Independence day, CNN-IBN has begun a special initiative to clean up India. It is a project
in which you can be involved by sharing your experiences of how there is a complete lack of civic sense
across the country. Here's a look at the Ganga and how the sacred river is dying a slow death in Varanasi.
http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/490530/clean-up-india-river-ganga-dying-a-slow-death-in-varanasi.html
Clean Ganga project: MyGov initiative for people’s participation appreciated
The Modi Government has been appreciated for MyGov project which is asking people for their
suggestions on various issues. One such issue is cleaning of river Ganga,which holds a sacred importance
for Hindus. When Narendra Modi was campaigning for Lok Sabha Election, cleaning river Ganga was one
of his major issues. He swiftly complied with his assurances when he became the Prime Minster.
We at Niti Central asked people for their suggestions on cleaning the Ganga and asked them why do they
feel that the current Government would be successful in cleaning the holy river when their predecessors
failed despite having made grand plans. Also, what would be the major hurdles in the way of the
Government for accomplishing this mammoth task.
http://www.niticentral.com/2014/08/05/work-at-ground-level-important-for-modi-sarkar-235255.html
The Ganges: holy river from hell
What is dumped in the river Ganges? Raw sewage, plastic bags and bottles, industrial effluents, human
waste, chemicals from tanneries, discarded idols, cow dung, partially cremated corpses, garlands of
flowers, human remains, animal carcasses, butcher’s offal, chemical dyes from sari factories and
construction waste.
It only takes a few hours of being in the ancient holy city of Varanasi – the most sacred place in the world
for Hindus – to realise that the question needs to be reworded as “what is not dumped in the Ganges?”
On an overcast, but oppressively humid, August day, India’s holiest river is the colour of pewter and
swollen from the monsoon rains, which have raised the water level to cover some of the famous ghats –
the long stretch of steps leading down to the river.
At Assi Ghat, named after the river Assi, which flows into the Ganges near this spot, a herd of buffalo has
been brought by their owner to cool off in the river. Submerged up to their backs, they stand, still as
statues, in the same water that locals and pilgrims will bathe in.
“The Assi river has been reduced to this,” says Virender Nishad, a seventh generation boatman, pointing
to a three-metre wide drain, full of sludge, plastic and litter. “If nothing changes, the Ganges will become
like this too in 20 or 30 years. If we go on polluting it, the river will be ruined and so will we.”
Nishad represents that curious paradox found all over India – everyone knows what the problem is and
how it should be fixed but somehow it never is. The will to act is missing, in ordinary people, in the
government.
Nishad has grown up on the ghats. Now 30, he has seen the river he regards as a living deity become
indescribably dirty. “When I was a boy, I used to drink the water. It used to be much cleaner and fastflowing,” he says.
But his memories have probably been sanitised by time because it was almost 30 years ago that the
Indian government launched its first huge clean-up project so the river cannot have been as clean as
Nishad remembers.
Over the decades, numerous campaigns to clean the Ganges have come and gone. Billions of dollars have
been thrown into the river. Good intentions have been felled by corruption and mismanagement. The
pollution and its causes have been dissected ad nauseam. Yet it is filthier than ever.
The Ganges flows for 2500 kilometres from the Himalayas through four states where 400 million Indians
live through to the east coast where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. As it passes through 100 towns
and cities, it absorbs all their human and industrial waste.
Experts estimate that more than 3000 million litres of untreated sewage from these towns along the
Ganges are pumped into the river every day. By the time it reaches Varanasi, whose untreated sewage
(or most of it) is also pumped into the waters, it becomes a sewer and the sixth most polluted river in the
world.
Dr Vishwambhar Nath Mishra, a university professor whose family has been temple priests here for 13
generations, says that 33 sites in the city continually discharge raw sewage into the river.
According to Mishra, who also runs the Sankat Mochan Foundation which campaigns to clean the
Ganges, scientists in the foundation’s laboratories have found the river has a faecal coliform count of
more than 1.5 million per 100ml of water. Water regarded as safe for bathing should not contain more
than 500 faecal coliform per 100ml, so bathing in the Ganges is only for the strong-hearted or those with
blind faith.
The foundation’s slogan is that “Not a drop of sewage should go into the Ganges” – although this has yet
to be achieved. “I know it’s dirty but I begin my morning prayers every day with a dip in the river,’’ Mishra
says. ‘‘ It doesn’t affect my faith.”
That faith is predicated on the belief that the waters of the Ganges are both pure and purifying. As British
travel writer Eric Newby wrote in his 1966 book Slowly Down the Ganges: “To drink the water, having
bathed in it, and to carry it away in bottles is meritorious. To be cremated on its banks, having died there,
and to have one’s ashes cast in its waters, is the wish of every Hindu.”
The country’s new prime minister, Narendra Modi, is one such Hindu and he is now the latest big hope
for those who wish to clean up the Ganges. Known by his admirers as a man of action who can turn ideas
into reality, he stood for election in Varanasi in the recent general election and won a thumping majority.
In a speech to thank voters on the banks of the Ganges on May 17, amid Hindu chants, Modi pledged to
clean the country’s holiest river, referring to it, as do millions of Hindus, as his “Ma Ganga” or Mother
Ganges. Modi has allocated 20.4 billion rupees ($340 million) for the clean-up and says he will succeed
where all previous governments have failed.
“If Modi can’t clean up the river, no one can. But I can guarantee 101 per cent that he will. He is upset at
the dirt in India and he is determined to do something about it. Tourists come here because of its name
but once they see the filth, they curse us and never return,” says Alok Tiwari, 35, owner of a nearby
roadside restaurant.
He too bathes every day in the river. Millions of pilgrims come every year to Varanasi because to bathe in
the Ganges is to wash away your sins. To die here is to escape the cycle of reincarnation and achieve
instant salvation.
Every day, the ghats are full of pilgrims who have endured long, hard train journeys to make their way to
fulfil their lifelong desire to take a holy dip in the Ganges.
Every centimetre of the river is sacred to them. They make offerings of flowers and rose petals. They
remember their ancestors as they pray. On the journey home, they all carry a small amount of the
precious water for use in rituals at home. The moment of entering the water is special like no other.
“When they step into the water, they are so overcome by euphoria that they lose their footing or go too
far in,’’ Nished says. ‘‘There are no lifeguards, no life rings. It’s up to us boatmen to get them out.” He
says that he has saved 100 people from drowning.
On the ghats, the boatmen, restaurant owners, flower sellers all seem to know how the river can be
protected against pollution. Tour guide Rajesh Choudhury, whose office is on Tulsi Ghat, says he is
ashamed when tourists want to see the sun rise on the ghats because he knows local people will be lined
up on the bank, defecating.
“We need to stop those who urinate and defecate in the river. We have to put up signs telling pilgrims
not to bathe with soap, oil and shampoo. We must fine cattle owners who bring their animals to bathe
here. And we need policemen on each ghat to enforce these rules. Right now, there is nothing, not a
single signpost saying don’t litter,” says Choudhury.
But he blames the culture more than the government’s failures. Of course, India must build sewage
treatment plants and penalise factories that pump noxious effluents into the river but he feels that
ordinary Indians must also learn to be clean.
The filth of the Ganges is mirrored in the filth of Varanasi. If the one million inhabitants of the city cannot
keep it clean, they are unlikely to keep the river clean.
Once, Varanasi (also known as Benares), one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world,
boasted a glorious civilisation. Indian music, dance, poetry and religious thought flourished here. A few
kilometres away is Sarnath where the Buddha gave his first sermon.
Today it is a slum. The city is pot-holed, full of rubbish where goats, dogs and cows rummage, roadside
eateries serve food right next to open sewers swarming with flies, people eat snacks and throw the
wrappers on to the street, men spit and urinate, and the roads are engorged with noisy, chaotic traffic.
Mark Twain famously said: “Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend,
and looks twice as old as all of them put together.” Stanley Benjamin, a 30-year-old hotel manager who
moved to Varanasi seven months ago had heard of Twain’s observation but it failed to prepare him for
the assault on his senses.
“I am still suffering from culture shock,” says Benjamin, who moved from Kerala in south India where life
is cleaner and more orderly. He is the general manager of Suryauday Haveli, a charming, 100-year-old
mansion on Assi Ghat. He shakes his head when he talks about how people behave.
“They always blame the government instead of looking at themselves. They keep their homes clean but
throw their rubbish out onto the street. As for the river, everything is thrown into it,” he says.
The ghats themselves are dirty and infested with hawkers and conmen out to fleece tourists. Even socalled holy men demand ‘‘baksheesh’’ to be photographed. Amazingly enough, though, hawkers and
boatmen manage to catch fish, even in the areas by the bank, near where the boats are anchored, areas
that are choked with rubbish.
Here on the ghats is the place that exemplifies the worst of the city, the Manikarnika cremation ghat
where funeral pyres burn night and day.
An endless procession of biers carrying the dead, covered in red and gold shrouds, keeps threading its
way through the alleyways towards the ghat. It’s estimated that 35,000 bodies are cremated here every
year.
On a busy day the ghat looks like a scene from hell. Bodies that have not been properly cremated – if the
family is poor and unable to buy the right quantity of wood, which is expensive – are just pushed into the
river.
Also, according to Hindu tradition, five categories of dead – holy men, pregnant women, children under
five, people bitten by snakes and lepers – must not be cremated. Instead, they are weighted down with
stones and pushed out into the river.
“After 24 hours, they rise to the surface and many end up by the banks,’’ Nishad says. ‘‘The authorities do
nothing. It’s up to us boatmen to push them away from the shore.’’
Sewage is not just Varanasi’s problem or the Ganges’ problem. It plagues the entire country. Other water
bodies are similarly polluted. India's cities and towns generate 38.2 billion litres of sewage every day. Its
installed capacity to treat sewage is 11.8 billion litres, about 30 per cent of what it needs.
In a way, the solution is simple. India has to build sewers, treat its sewage, punish industries that
discharge their waste into the river and make people develop cleaner habits.
“Ninety per cent of the pollution of the Ganges is from untreated sewage,’’ says Mishra. ‘‘Only the other
10 per cent is from human behaviour.”
Many locals disagree. Tapan Das, a 55-year-old hotelier who has lived his entire life in Varanasi, says it is
up to every resident to keep the river and the ghats clean. “Everyone talks but no one does anything. It is
a desperate situation,” he says.
In July, a family friend of Das’ died and he attended the cremation at Manikarnika ghat. Tradition dictates
that mourners must bathe in the Ganges after the funeral. “I did bathe in it, out of faith. But when I came
home, I had a shower to wash away the Ganga water!”
http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-ganges-holy-river-from-hell-20140806-100xz9.html
Haimark on Verge of Major Growth
Haimark Ltd., an ambitious travel start-up, is on the verge of a major expansion in the river and oceangoing cruise markets. It will introduce two Asia river ships in September and another one in January —
and then will enter the ocean cruise market in May. Plus, more river ships are on the way after that.
Haven’t heard of Haimark? The company was founded in 2013 by three veteran travel executives. Before
that, Marcus Leskovar was president and Tom Markwell vice president of sales and marketing for the
North American operation for Pandaw, an Asia river cruise company headquartered in Singapore.
When that operation closed, they formed Haimark Ltd. as a destination management company and now
are managing partners, with Leskovar handling finance and procurement from the Denver area and
Markwell overseeing sales and marketing from Illinois. Hai Giang is the Vietnam-based managing partner
for operations.
Now the company is gearing up for a major expansion in its Haimark Line cruise division. It will introduce
the 56-passenger Irrawaddy Explorer on Sept. 3 in Myanmar and the 68-guest Mekong Navigator on Sept.
7 to operate in Vietnam and Cambodia.
Then, on Jan. 3, Haimark will launch river cruising in India, with the 56-passenger Ganges Voyager. It will
operate seven-night round-trips from Kolkata, India, and offers land extensions to Delhi and Varanasi
and/or the Golden Triangle of Jaipur, Agra, and Delhi. A second vessel, the Ganges Voyager II, is
scheduled to enter service on Jan. 6, 2016, and Uniworld is planning to market about two-thirds of the
inventory on that vessel, Markwell said.
On Sept. 10, 2015, Haimark will launch a 24-guest, all-suite, “spa concept” ship named Mekong Princess.
The company says it will have “the most extensive spa menu of any ship on the Mekong River” with
several types of massages, facials, scrubs, and body wraps. Each guest will receive one free hour-long spa
treatment during the cruise to begin the week-long rejuvenation.
Beyond Asia, however, the 44-guest Amazon Discovery will enter service on Oct. 5, 2015, on the Peruvian
Amazon. The all-suite ship will operate six-night voyages in what Markwell characterizes as an
“underserved market.”
“There’s pent-up demand by a mass of people who wish to go to the Amazon but don’t have $1,000 a day
to spend,” he said. “Early sales of the Amazon Discovery are very, very good.”
So that summarizes the river cruise expansion. The company now is expanding to the oceans, primarily
the North Atlantic coast, the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and South and Central America.
It negotiated a five-year lease for the 200-passenger Sea Voyager from FleetPro, a company that
manages ocean and river passenger vessels worldwide.
Haimark will invest $3.5 million primarily on soft goods and furnishings for the ship, which was built in
2001 and will be renamed Saint Laurent when it re-enters service. It was laid up for several years, used as
an accommodations vessel at times, but was in great condition, Markwell said.
“She’s hardly been used,” he said. “The infrastructure is pristine.”
So now the renovation is replacing soft goods, carpeting, upholstery, glassware, deck furniture and the
like.
“We’re doing nothing structural,” Markwell said. “We don’t need to knock out walls. The ship is in great
shape, so our work is all cosmetic. We’ll freshen up the ship and bring it up to a more current look.”
The Saint Laurent’s itineraries include the 10-day “Canada’s Atlantic Coast and the St. Lawrence Seaway”;
the 10-day “The Five Great Lakes — A Freshwater Paradise” and the 10-day “Georgian Bay and The Five
Great Lakes.” In addition, the 13-day, “Historic Coastal America” traverses the entire Atlantic Seaboard
and will visit many historic ports on its way south in the winter.
In South and Central America, the routes include travel from Nassau to Cartagena, Colombia, then
Cartagena to San Jose, Costa Rica, and from San Jose to Lima, Peru. Highlights include daytime transits of
the Panama Canal, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites Coiba Island and The Darian Jungle. These cruises
will feature an expedition team and a fleet of new Zodiac rafts.
“We are extremely proud to unveil our first ocean-going vessel and have already sold 50 percent of the
2015 departures,” Markwell said.
Haimark’s business model is driven by charters, as you might guess from the small size of the ships. But
there is space for groups and individuals, and the company works very closely with travel agents and tour
companies. “We are so travel agent driven and tour operator driven,” Markwell said. “We are not a direct
marketer of travel.”
http://www.travelpulse.com/news/cruise/haimark-on-verge-of-major-growth.html
Discharge in Ganga: NGT orders joint inspection into polluting industries
New Delhi: Concerned over effluents discharged into the Ganga and the Yamuna, the National Green
Tribunal (NGT) today directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Uttar Pradesh Pollution
Control Board (UPPCB) to conduct a joint inspection of "seriously polluting industries" on the bank of
both the rivers.
A bench, headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar, directed the joint committee comprising
members of both the pollution control boards to submit a report on different categories of industrial
clusters and their location.
"We direct the CPCB and the UPPCB to conduct a joint inspection of all the... Seriously polluting industries
which have not installed any anti-pollutant devices.
"Besides this, the joint committee shall bring in the report on the industrial clusters of different
categories and their location, particularly where they are situated on the banks of the river Ganges and
the river Yamuna, as the case may be," the bench said.
The bench also directed the committee to give a separate list of all the sugar and distillery units
functioning on the banks of the two rivers and say whether they are discharging their effluents into the
river.
The green bench asked the committee to submit, in its report, the water source of the industries and the
extent of the effluent discharge.
The NGT had on April 22 warned the CPCB and the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board that it would
pass "coercive orders" if effective steps were not taken to control pollution due to effluents discharged
by sugar mills and a dairy firm in the river Ganga.
The bench was hearing a petition filed by UP resident Krishan Kant Singh who contended that the stretch
of Ganga from Garmukteshwar to Narora was being polluted due to discharge of highly toxic and harmful
effluents by the sugar mill as well as the dairy firm.
The petition had also said that the effluents released into the river were not only contaminating the
water but also threatening endangered aquatic species like dolphins and turtles.
It had also stated that according to a report prepared last year after testing the waters of the river, the
levels of effluents like solid suspended matter, oil, grease and others were way above the permissible
norms.
Singh in his petition had also alleged that the ground water in the areas surrounding the sugar mills and
the dairy firm have been contaminated due to their discharge.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/eco-news/discharge-in-ganga-ngt-orders-joint-inspection-into-pollutingindustries_952984.html
Activists say plans to construct 16 dams will convert river into 16 ponds
The Centre’s plan to develop the Ganga as waterway for commercial activities would sound the death
knell for the river that is already struggling for survival, feel experts and activists who have been working
for the revival of the holy river.
“The Ganga is already dying a slow death due to severe pollution and upstream check of its flow. The
government is now talking of constructing dams at every 100 km. Between Varanasi and Hooghly, which
is around 1,600 km stretch, there will be 16 dams…This will kill the living river…It will be converted into
16 huge ponds, each with 100 km and 600-800 metres dimension,” says Prof V.N. Mishra of IIT-BHU, who
heads the Sankat Mochan Foundation, a trust that works for cleaning and revival of the Ganga.
Incidentally, Prof. Mishra, who is also the ‘Mahant’ (head priest) of the famous Sankat Mochan temple,
was in Delhi in June this year when the Union Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari announced plans
to develop inland waterways in the Ganga from Varanasi to Hooghly via Bihar and create multi-purpose
terminals for commercial use.
This Rs.6,000-crore project will be the part of Rs.1-lakh crore ‘Clean Ganga’ project that the Modi
government plans to undertake. “I was horrified to hear how the government was planning to kill a river
which is already struggling for its survival…Has the government studied the adverse environmental
impact the river will suffer? What will happen to its aquatic life that is already struggling for survival?”
Prof. Mishra said.
U.K. Choudhary, an ex-IIT-BHU teacher and expert in river engineering said 90 per cent the holy river was
“killed” when it reaches the plains, and the rest when its free movement is further controlled. “Dams and
barrages block the flow of the river. The originality of the river is lost as it passes through these dams.
More the dams, more the quality of water is degraded, which is harmful for river’s survival.”
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/inland-waterways-project-will-kill-ganga/article6289042.ece
Chasing the Sacred: Down the Ganges From Snow to Sea
In northern India, there is a river with over a hundred names. It starts in the Garhwal Himalaya and drops
over 14,000 feet from the terminus of the Gangotri Glacier before marching some 1,550 miles to the Bay
of Bengal. For nearly a billion Hindus in India and beyond, it is more than a river. It is the extension of the
divine—Lord Shiva. Not only does it transport the prayers of believers visiting its waters, but it also
provides sustenance for hundreds of millions of people, vast industry, agriculture, and endangered
wildlife like the Bengal tiger and the susu, a blind freshwater dolphin. For Indians it is most commonly
known as Ma Ganga—Mother Ganga. For Westerners, it is the Ganges, one of the most sacred of the
world’s rivers.
The idea was simple. Follow the holy waters of this river source to sea. Climb to the top of the Ganges
watershed and follow its flow through the Himalaya, across the Gangetic plain and through the delta to
where it kisses the ocean. It would be the classic, age-old river trip down India’s lifeline—a window into
the country’s culture, religion, industry, birth, ritual, and love, even death. The goal would be to
document the river and the world around it and even measure water quality en route.
Winding through the Himalaya, the Bhagarathi River, a source river of the Ganges, winds through the
terraced hills and communities of Utterkashi in northern India. Last summer, this region was ravaged by
floods due to a glacial outburst that killed over 6,000 people. Launch Gallery
Having visited the Ganges years before on another assignment for National Geographic, I knew just
enough about this world through which the river flowed to realize an important thing: A source-to-sea
mission, on paper, is simple. Doing it would be daunting. The mind-boggling logistics involved in any
source-to-sea mission are troublesome. In India, they can be perplexing. Communication near remote
headwaters is limited or nonexistent. The permit process can suffocate you in bureaucratic paperwork
and take six months to a year. It took nine months to initiate the process of hiring a helicopter for a
scouting/filming flight. The actual trip would last six weeks.
As a visual storyteller, I knew that finding photographic gems and video jewels amid the swarm of beauty,
rawness, and messy vitality that makes up India’s tapestry of life would inevitably create a quandary:
where and when do you point the lens?
In the holy city of Rishikesh, upstream from Hardiwar, pilgrims and tourists from all over the world come
to visit the Ganges and give offerings. Shops line the streets with spiritual items and colorful toys that
captivate a boy’s attention.
Although the Ganges is far from my home and heritage, I grew up on the banks of another famed
waterway—the mighty Colorado. Five years ago I followed that river source to sea—by boat, by plane, by
foot—to document its beauty and challenges. In the process, I learned something obvious to me now but
surprising at the time: Few grasp the importance of watersheds and rivers or think of them beyond their
own backyard. I, of course, was one of them. I had little awareness of the importance of a river, especially
the Colorado, until I chased its waters. Perhaps our Ganges journey could ignite a spark of interest.
Our first challenge beyond the logistical minefield of permits, communication, and transportation would
be capturing the passion and reverence people exhibit for their beloved waterway, which drains the
southern Himalaya. Everyone from pilgrims and politicians to socialites and sadhus flock to the river’s
banks to pray, bathe, or merely admire its power. Many rivers worldwide often go unnoticed except for
hydroelectric operators and a few recreationalists (boaters and fishermen). But in India, the public
embraces the Ganges with open arms. And they do it by praying on the river’s banks daily throughout the
entire watershed. In the holy cities of Rishikesh, Haridwar, and Varanasi, formal prayer services with
music, fire, and speeches occur every day. They are called aarti—some call it the “Hindu happy hour.”
This collective, spiritual hug by the hundreds of millions using the river, however, comes with costs.
Pollution and a lack of environmental awareness are visibly notable across much of the watershed. And in
many areas, the challenges are compounded by a simple mindset flowing through the same people that
revere its sacred flow: The river is God, thus it is all powerful and immune to the threats of overuse,
contamination, and environmental degradation. In short, people believe the curative powers of the
Ganges will not only heal us, but also itself. It is an illogical environmental conundrum—the Ganges
paradox, if you will.
For me, this paradox sparks a question: If the physical river dies, what happens to the spiritual power?
Many Indians I asked brush away the question suggesting the Ganges can’t die, but admit they are
concerned about pollution. One woman who has lived on the Ganges’ shores for 18 years boldly stated,
“If the Ganges dies, we all die. Society dies.” My friend and translator for the trip, Madhav, a Hindu monk
who grew up traveling the river, says, “After years of cleaning our sins, now it is time to clean the sins
placed upon Ma Ganga.” It appears many agree. India’s new prime minister, Narenda Modi, won the
recent election on a platform that included cleaning the Ganges. Earlier in July his administration
proposed a 340 million dollar budget to do just that, fueling hope across India.
In exploring every possible mile of the Ganges, we hoped to better understand the Ganges paradox,
maybe even find answers. Joined by professional climbers Jake Norton and Dave Morton we too
embraced Ma Ganga, day and night. Madhav would join us downstream as a translator/ guide. Our
intended starting point for the journey would be the unclimbed, 22,487-foot Chaukhamba IV summit
towering above the Gangotri Glacier like a watchful sentinel.
While questions of this river’s health raced through our minds, I fretted about the miles of hurdles ahead.
Could we gain access to the big aarti service in Haridwar? Could we film in the tanneries of Kanpur? How
do you capture Varanasi’s crumbling beauty? Would we even make the end at Sagar Island? Could we
stay healthy?
At Sagar Island, the Ganges connects with the sea at the Bay of Bengal. Considered a holy place of
worship, people come to give offerings and prayers. A pack of stray dogs await a handout. Launch Gallery
Arriving in August 2013 on the heels of a record monsoon that triggered a glacial outburst flood, our first
river lesson presented itself: The Ganges gives and takes away. Over 6,000 people died, and thousands
more were reported missing. Miles of roads were washed out and complete hillsides scoured naked.
Entire villages were swept into oblivion. The communities we traveled through mourned with stoic
resilience. And as we plodded north, I wondered if walking eight days beyond civilization to attempt an
unclimbed peak was prudent. The river gods—Hindu and otherwise—appeared far from happy.
Nonetheless, we pushed on. Our snow/water samples might add to the story of this challenged, sacred
watershed. And documenting the many that live, survive, revere, and even revile this majestic body of
water might help unveil some answers to a paradox that plagues it. If nothing else, we would add a
chapter to the evolving story of a river called Ma—Mother.
http://proof.nationalgeographic.com/2014/08/04/chasing-the-sacred-down-the-ganges-from-snow-tosea/
High in the Himalaya: 36 Avalanches and a Silent Refuge
One river, 18,000 feet, 1,500 miles. In the fall of 2013, photographer and videographer Pete McBride,
along with professional climbers Jake Norton and Dave Morton, followed the Ganges River from snow to
sea. All this week, Proof takes you on their 45-day journey—by foot, boat, bike, aircraft, rickshaw, bus,
train, and even elephant—as they track every mile of this sacred river.
Just before sunset, the snow starts to fall. The flakes are wet and heavy. Jake looks up and says as much
to the sky as to us, his climbing partners, “This feels like one of those monsoon storms that stick around.”
Dave and I listen to Jake’s words, but there is nothing to do except button up. We are high in the Garhwal
region of the Indian Himalaya, standing at 17,500 feet atop the giant Gangotri glacier, surrounded by
23,000-foot peaks, many unclimbed. It is said to be the birthplace of India’s sacred river, the Ganges. It
has taken us nearly ten days to get here—six of them by foot walking through treacherous, glacial
moraine. We are miles from any whisper of civilization. But due to our proximity to India’s northwestern
border with Pakistan, Indian law prohibits satellite phones. International tensions with Pakistan are
hotter than normal, boiling even. We are highly aware that any rescue requiring support (helicopters), is
out of the question.
We came to this remoteness to claw our way up the unclimbed Chaukhamba IV, a 22,487-foot, glacialclad granite monster standing like a sentinel protecting the Gangotri glacier at its feet. Avalanche
conditions are ripe, so we have targeted another 22,200-foot peak just west. It too has never been
climbed, or even named. We are poised to move upward tomorrow. Ropes, helmets, crampons, and ice
axes sit ready, waiting outside our tents.
A stubborn monsoon season might say otherwise though. As darkness seeps over us, the wet, heavy
flakes change. The soft sound of falling snow has morphed to a frozen, small hail. Miniature tap dancers
performing on our nylon roof, I think. We lie in our sleeping bags cracking jokes about our situation. Who
packed skis? All of us are intently focused on the sound of the storm. I try to keep worry to a slow
percolate.
As the damp night lists, we continually shake accumulating snow from our tents. We take turns shoveling
every two hours to keep the ventilation from sealing. The thought of quiet suffocation keeps me awake.
The steady creaks and moans of the glacier that kept me awake previous nights have subsided. And the
steady roar of water pouring down the glacier has also gone mute. Just the icy snow dance on our tent. I
wonder if the haunting loon-like call of the male Himalayan snowcock will wake us in the morning like it
has before.
Sometime around midnight a new sound jolts Jake and me upright in our bags. A low rumble … no,
distant thunder … no, echoing giant thunder. Avalanche. At first we hear it from afar—high up on
Chaukhamba, I presume. But steadily the rumble grows louder, stereo even. Jake and I look at each
other. “How far are we from the mountain?” I ask, starting to eye my boots. Jake assures me we are fine.
Ten minutes later another roar, even louder. Jake eyes his boots.
For the next five hours, the avalanches continue. Their sounds vary between that of distant
thunderstorms and the crack of artillery fire—building-size blocks tumbling from above. Some avalanches
rumble over a minute. Throughout the night, I count 36.
At 5:30 a.m., we come to the conclusion that our climbing mission is over. If we don’t move, the
monsoon won’t let us. It is time to pack up and fight/flee our way down. As I mine for buried tent stakes,
I measure over three feet of snow. It is still snowing, hard. The soupy light is so flat, I get disoriented
when I stand. The call of the snowcock is absent. Everything is absent except snow.
Over the next six hours we posthole through thigh-deep, concrete-like snow, straining under oversize
loads. Our climbing ropes remain behind—too heavy for a single load. We mark their location with GPS
coordinates, optimistically hoping someone can find them later. In ten hours, we make just three miles to
Advance Base Camp. Our third tent is completely buried, hidden. Dave, who has guided all seven summits
and stood atop Everest six times, says it is the “most worked he has been in a long time.” I can barely
smile at the comment. I’m shattered.
We reach Base Camp the following night. I’m so tired I can barely eat. And two days later we reach the
rustic ashram of Silent Baba, a sadhu who hasn’t spoken in seven years—his form of reverence to Ma
Ganga. His tiny structure sits at 14,200 feet, in the shadow of the Bhagirathi, Meru, and Shivling, some of
the most stunning peaks I’ve witnessed. Wild ibex linger in the meadows beyond his stone sanctuary.
Baba serves us homemade chai and we sit in silence, watching the mountains, grateful we aren’t
stranded.
Slightly defeated by our abandoned climb, we push downstream past Gaumukh, “the cow’s mouth,”
where the Ganges pours out beneath the collapsing foot of the Gangotri Glacier. This transition of ice to
river is spiritually powerful and many Hindu pilgrimage here. The exact location, however, is moving
upstream at roughly 60 feet a year—the hand of climate change at work.
Then, suddenly, after weeks on foot, we return to the wheeled travel of 4x4s and move downstream
through the scoured canyons of a gravity-fueled river. The roads that were washed out when we came in
are now repaired, barely. “It feels like we are driving on a sandcastle,” says Dave.
When we enter the lower foothills, the power of the Ganges visibly stops. Stretched before us is the Tehri
Dam and reservoir, one of the largest and most controversial hydroelectric projects in the world. To
quench a growing thirst for electricity, the Tehri project submerged 40 villages and physically stopped
Lord Shiva’s flow.
The sacred headwaters are clearly behind us. Time to start looking downstream.
http://proof.nationalgeographic.com/2014/08/05/high-in-the-himalaya-36-avalanches-and-a-silentrefuge/
http://proof.nationalgeographic.com/2014/08/06/industry-on-the-banks-deep-inside-kanpurs-tanneries/
http://proof.nationalgeographic.com/2014/08/07/the-pyres-of-varanasi-breaking-the-cycle-of-deathand-rebirth/
http://proof.nationalgeographic.com/2014/08/08/kissing-the-bay-of-bengal-celebration-reverence-andmystery/
River Ganges overflows menacingly towards nearby villages in UP
Gonda, Aug 07 (ANI): The holy river Ganges overflowed menacingly towards the nearby villages of Gonda
city in Uttar Pradesh after submerging the fields and a wooden bridge and creating panic of a flood- like
situation among people living in the vicinity. The bridge helps people to commute from Patpadganj and
Nawabganj districts to Tulsipur, Mazharath, Arjunpurva, Durgaganj and Jaitpur villages and vice versa.
Incessant rainfall has caused floods in the district, thereby drowning nearby villages. In July, Moradabad
district experienced rainfall for hours, when around 25 villages were submerged in the flood waters.
http://www.aninews.in/videogallery2/26488-river-ganges-overflows-menacingly-towards-nearbyvillages-in-up.html
National Green Tribunal orders CPCB and UPPCB to conduct joint inspection of 'seriously polluting
industries'
Taking a serious view over the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) report citing the 98 industrial
units seriously polluting the River Ganga in state of Uttar Pradesh, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has
ordered the CPCB and UPPCB to conduct a joint inspection of all industries and sought a report.
Directing to set up a joint committee, the Tribunal asked to bring in the report the industrial clusters of
different categories and their location. “...In respect of the industries which were served with show cause
notice for closure it shall be reported as to what is the fate after the issuance of such Notice and the
present status of the industry whether they are operating or not?” the NGT said and asked for a separate
list of all the sugar and distillery Units functioning on the banks and nearby river Ganges and Yamuna and
whether they are discharging their effluents into the river.
Refrerring to 98 industries, the forum said these units are categorised as “seriously polluting industries"
which have not installed any anti pollutant devices...”.
It appointed advocate Aagney Sail, as the Local Commissioner who shall visit the industries which were
shown in the report as closed but they were actually operating and submit a report and file a detail
affidavit.
During the hearing a plea for cleaning Ganga, the CPCB in its list of 972 units includes 98 seriously
polluting industries which have either not installed anti-pollution devices or have installed anti-pollution
devices but they are not functioning properly. Those 98 industrial units include names like Simbhaoli
Sprit, Wave industries limited, Harduganj Thermal Power Station, Diesel Locomotive Works (Varanasi)
and others.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid special emphasis on cleaning and rejuvenation of Ganga river. An
informal group of secretaries of select union ministries and an informal group of union ministers are also
meeting to chalk out a clear roadmap for cleaning and rejuvenation of India’s holy river.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-national-green-tribunal-orders-cpcb-and-uppcb-to-conduct-jointinspection-of-seriously-polluting-industries-2008970
German Ambassador to Present Media Award at Ifat India
As last year, IFAT India will in 2014 again be supporting the Indo-German Environment Partnership (IGEP)
of the GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) and, on October 9, hosting the
award ceremony for the "All India Environmental Journalism Competition". The "Clean Ganga Award", a
special prize for reporting on the rejuvenation of the Ganges, will be presented by Michael Steiner, the
German Ambassador in India.
The “All India Environmental Journalism Competition” has been organized by GIZ since 2013, under the
patronage of the German Embassy in New Delhi, and in cooperation with the Asian College of Journalism,
Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) South Asia, thethirdpole.net, IFAT India and the Deutsche
Welle Akademie. The awards, which are divided into the categories of print, TV, radio, internet and
photography, are presented for accurate, critical and profound media coverage of environmental topics
in India.
New this year is an additional category – the "Clean Ganga Award", a special prize to be presented at IFAT
India by the German Ambassador in India, Michael Steiner. The Ganges is India´s second-largest river and
it is suffering from considerable levels of pollution. The new Indian government, under Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, is therefore planning to expand and clean up "Mother Ganges". The award initiative
takes up this theme by honoring the best journalistic reporting on the rejuvenation of the Ganges.
Applicants are invited to submit entries up until August 15. The winners will be announced at the end of
August and they will be presented with their prizes on the first day of IFAT India.
The second edition of India´s "Leading Trade Fair for Water, Sewage, Refuse and Recycling", takes place
from October 9 to 11, 2014 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre (BEC) in Mumbai. Already many big-name
companies have signed up to exhibit at IFAT India, for example, Bilfinger Water Technologies, Endress +
Hauser (India) Pvt Ltd, Excel Industries, Ion Exchange Waterleau Ltd, Roots Multiclean Ltd, Organica
Biotech, ThyssenKrupp Bauservice GmbH and WTW Wissenschaftlich-Technische Werkstätten GmbH – a
Xylem Brand. Alongside national pavilions of exhibitors from Austria, China, Germany and Switzerland,
there will also be a pavilion organized by the German Water Partnership (GWP).
http://impeller.net/magazine/News_en/doc7761x.asp
Joyride in Ganga risky with unfit boats
Varanasi: A boat ride to enjoy scenic beauty of historical ghats is a must in the itinerary of tourists visiting
the city from across the globe. But the fact is that the joyride is risky as most of the boats are not fit for
boating.
Agencies like Varanasi Municipal Corporation (VMC) and Zila Panchayat are the licensing authorities for
the boats operating in Ganga and other rivers in the district. However, after the backing of almost all
political parties, the unions of boatmen have emerged as parallel authority. Under their pressure, the
decision of issuing licences to ensure that only trained persons are sailing boats in Ganga was withdrawn
in 2011-12. Out of 2,500 boats operating in district limits, the registration of only 496 has been sought
from VMC. No fitness test of boats has been done in recent years while all the motor-operated boats are
sailing illegally.
President of Maa Ganga Nishadraj Sewa Samiti and member of Nauka Dhara Samaj Vinod Majhi said that
licences for boats are sought only from VMC as the provision of issuing licence by zila panchayat ended
after the unions of boatmen approached the high court a few years back. Majhi disclosed that about
2,500 boats operate in Ganga stream in Varanasi. The VMC licence officer Tilak Ram revealed that only
496 boats are registered with VMC but their renewal, which should be done in April, is still due.
Regarding operation of over 2,000 boats without registration, Majhi said that VMC does not issue
licences for motor-operated and big sized boats (locally known as bajra) by mentioning its operation
banned in the seven-kilometre stretch of tortoise sanctuary. ADM city MP Singh, who reviewed the
records of boats, admitted that out of total boats operating here only 15% has registration and license.
The VMC officials remain mum when asked about the fitness test of boats.
Majhi claimed that the boatmen check the fitness of boats themselves and the damaged ones are not
used. He claimed that boatmen avoid overloading but admitted that some boatmen having nexus with
police indulge in practices like overloading. Tilak Ram said that in 2011-12, a decision was taken to make
licence compulsory. But, he said, against it, the union of boatmen adopted warpath and the VMC had to
withdraw the decision. Majhi makes it clear that people from his fraternity are engaged this work for
centuries and their training starts since childhood hence there is no need for certification.
Majhi plays safe by demanding action against boatmen indulging in overloading and operating unfit boats
but the fact cannot be denied that the boatmen playing with life of people are active.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/Joyride-in-Ganga-risky-with-unfitboats/articleshow/39831162.cms
Ganga continues to swell in Varanasi
Varanasi: The water level of river Ganga continued to rise on Thursday. A rise of 0.52mt in 24 hours was
recorded in Mirzapur while the water level went up 0.34mt in Varanasi during this period.
According to the flood bulletin of the middle Ganga division-III of central water commission, the river
rose up to 1.39mts in Mirzapur and 1.12mts in Varanasi on Wednesday, while the intensity of flood went
down on Thursday. The river was also on rise in Ghazipur and Ballia. Meanwhile, a group of boatmen
associated with Maa Ganga Nishadraj Sewa Samiti held a programme at Dashashwamedh Ghat to pay
homage to the persons who died in the recent boat tragedy.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/Ganga-continues-to-swell-inVaranasi/articleshow/39833297.cms
Army offers to join PM Narendra Modi's Ganga cleaning effort
NEW DELHI: Seeking to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative to clean river Ganga, the Army has
proposed to set up a task force under a retired Lieutenant General to carry out the project efficiently.
The Army has submitted a proposal to the Government to set up a task force under a retired Lt General
with a team of 40 officers who would help in cleaning the river, Army sources said.
The Territorial Army battalions of the Army are already engaged in the task of preserving ecology and
environment and have been taking part in projects to spread greenery in barren areas such as the Bhati
Mines area in Delhi, they said.
The Modi government had promised to clean up the river Ganga which has become heavily polluted due
to industrial and human waste and has allocated Rs 2,037 crore for the task in its first general budget.
The NDA government has also created a separate ministry of Ganga Rejuvenation under Union Minister
Uma Bharti. The government is also planning to set up an NRI fund to boost Gangas cleaning efforts.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/army-offers-to-join-pm-narendra-modisganga-cleaning-effort/articleshow/39179912.cms
Holy River Ganga set to become plastic free soon
Kolkata: The Ganga Jagran Yatra which started a month back from Haridwar in Uttarakhand culminated in
Kolkata on Sunday. The ‘rath’, in the past 30 days, covered more than 1,000 kilometres in five states and
carried the message of rejuvenating River Ganga.
During the concluding ceremony, Union Minister of States (Independent Charge) for Petroleum and
Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan showered praise on Dainik Jagran for undertaking a noble attempt to
clean River Ganga in order to render it pollution-free.
He said that everyone will have to shoulder his/her responsibility in order to support this initiative adding
that the Ganga can be made plastic-free.
In order to execute this task, a number of industries will be set up at many places, including Haridwar,
where diesel will be produced from plastic.
The Union Minister also said that Ganga is not only a river but India’s soul flows in it and it’s the
responsibility of both government as well as society to make it pollution free.
In an event organized at Kalakunj in the city, Dharmendra Pradhan discussed steps taken by the
government regarding Ganga cleansing and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already initiated
it by carrying out Ganga Aarti programme.
“Besides, during his first Cabinet meet, the Prime Minister held deliberations on Ganga cleansing decided
to take new steps in this direction. He created a separate ministry for Ganga cleansing,” said Pradhan.
He further said that the world’s largest read newspaper Dainik Jagran, standing tall on its name and
proving its credibility, conducted a nationwide campaign. Pradhan also said that the country’s largest
commercial hub Kolkata is situated along the banks of Ganga and the river can be developed as a major
center of transportation, tourism and economic development.
Also present at the programme, Dainik Jagran Group CEO and Editor-in-Chief Sanjay Gupta said that
passion and determination matter more than money when it comes to cleansing Ganga.
He said that even small efforts can prove quite useful in this direction and preserve Ganga and this yatra
should not be viewed as political one.
He also sounded skeptical of the view that government will provide funds for Ganga cleansing and
municipal corporations will do the rest. Everyone will have to show some responsibility towards this
critical issue, added Sanjay Gupta.
The CEO and Editor-in-Chief also said that there was a time when people used to take bath at home and
then would go to banks of Ganga so that the river does not become dirty but now people take bath at
home after taking dip in the river.
West Bengal Sports and Transport Minister Madan Mitra said that India and Ganga are synonym to each
other.
Underlining the importance of Dainik Jagran’s initiative; he said that the yatra has given a pledge to
restore the importance of Ganga. Inspired by this campaign, Ganga Aarti has become a daily affair in his
Kamarhati assembly constituency.
http://post.jagran.com/holy-river-ganga-set-to-become-plastic-free-soon-1406529195
Destroying the Ganga
The proposed cascade of barrages will totally deprive the Hilsa from accessing its spawning grounds and
the fish may become extinct.
The government proposes to make a cascade of barrages every 100 km on the Ganga from Allahabad to
Haldia. ‘Locks’ will be made that will enable large 4500 ton ships to cross the barrages. The Union surface
transport minister Nitin Gadkari said at a meeting that the cost of transport by road is Rs 1.50 per kilo, by
rail Re 1.00 per kilo and by waterway Re 0.50 per kilo. Movement of goods on the Ganga waterway will
reduce the cost of transport and help push the growth rate.
There will be environmental and cultural costs, however. The barrages will convert the Ganga into a
number of large lakes of 100 km length each. The ships will cross the barrage through locks but the fish
will not be able to cross them. Many fish migrate long distances to their spawning grounds.
The famous Hilsa mainly inhabits the sea. It migrates up to 1,000 km upstream into the river and lays
eggs. These eggs float down the river to the delta. Here they mature and fishes come out. These little fish
go into the sea. Here they gain wait and again migrate upstream to lay eggs.
This upstream migration has already been badly affected by the Farakka Barrage. The Hilsa was known to
travel up to Allahabad previously. Now it can move only up to Farakka where its pathway is blocked by a
stone wall. The proposed cascade of barrages will totally deprive the Hilsa from accessing its spawning
grounds and the fish may become extinct.
This is just one example. Decline in the fisheries will impact the water quality of the Ganga. The fishes not
only provide food. They also clean up the water. They eat the carcasses and twigs and other organic
material. Thus we find large fishes merrily swimming in clear waters in holy places such as Shringeri in
Karnataka. Extinction of the fishes will reduce, if not eliminate, this cleansing function and water quality
will deteriorate.
The rivers bring not only water but also sediments. The Nagpur-based National Environment Engineering
Research Institute (NEERI) has found that sediments of the Ganga contain high levels of copper and
chromium. These metals have bactericidal qualities. The sediments also contain minute levels of
radioactive thorium the functions of which are not understood as yet.
The presence of these bactericidal qualities in Ganga is dependent on the Himalayan sediments reaching
the lower stretches. These sediments will be trapped in the barrages and downstream Ganga will be
deprived of their beneficent qualities.
Another factor that imparts ‘self-purifying’ qualities to the Ganga waters is the presence of widespectrum coliphages. The coliphages are beneficent bacteria while coliforms are harmful bacteria. Many
hundreds of types of both are found in river waters. Normally one type of coliphage eats up one specific
type of coliform.
Beneficent bacteria
The specialty of the Ganga coliphages is that they are wide-spectrum. One coliphage eats up many types
of coliforms. These coliphages stick to sand particles and remain dormant for long periods. They become
active whenever they sense the presence of coliforms. They impart ‘self-purification’ quality to the water
of the Ganga. Problem is that the sand particles on which the coliphages stick will not flow beyond
Allahabad after making of the barrages. The Ganga will no longer self-purify itself in the lower stretches.
Trapping of the sediments will also impact the territory of India. The plains from Haridwar to Haldia have
been formed by the sediments brought by the Ganga from the Himalayas. This heavy influx of sediments
has counteracted the cutting action of the sea. The sea has a natural hunger for sediments. It east up the
land to meet this hunger. Thus we find that most seashores are stony.
This hunger was earlier satisfied by the sediments brought by the Ganga. That led to creation of new
land. This process of land formation has been reversed after making of the Bhimgoda barrage on the
Ganga in 1850s and Tehri Dam and barrages at Bijnor and Narora after Independence.
As a result the sediments are largely trapped and do not flow to the sea.
The hunger of the sea is not satisfied and the sea has started cutting into the land of India to meet its
needs. The Ganga Sagar Island has lost about three kilometers land in the last few decades. Making of the
proposed barrages will accelerate this process and we may see much more land going into the sea.
The NDA-II government had made an electoral promise to maintain uninterrupted flow in the Ganga.
That was welcome. Making of the proposed cascade of barrages is blatant reversal of its electoral pledge.
The government is trying to wriggle out of this contradiction by redefining ‘uninterrupted.’
The people are now being misinformed that releasing waters from the barrages will maintain
‘uninterrupted’ flow. Even a release of 100 per cent of the incoming water will not make it uninterrupted.
The water from the tubewell is different than water from the same tubewell stored in a tank. The
negative environmental impacts listed above will not be mitigated by releasing these flows.
I am not against using the Ganga as a waterway. The way forward is to facilitate the movement of small
ships not only up to Allahabad but up to Haridwar. The need is to decommission Farakka, Kanpur, Narora,
Bijnor and Haridwar barrages so that this movement can take place.
Water can be abstracted from the river for irrigation by making a partial obstruction and removing a part
of the water as was done at Bhimgoda earlier. Other examples of abstraction of water without making a
barrage across the river are available from the old Tajewal
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/422390/destroying-ganga.html
Can we Afford a Dirty Ganges?
“(The) need of the hour is to restore the glory of the Ganga. Today Maa Ganga is calling us, her children,
to make the river clean once again,” newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted on May 17,
signalling his priorities which were writ large in the Union Budget.
The Modi government announced Rs 6,300-plus crore ‘Namami Gange’ scheme. While Rs 2,037 crore will
go into rejuvenating the river, another Rs 4,200 crore will be spent on developing a navigation corridor in
the next six years. The government also announced a ‘NRI Ganga fund’ to help drive fund collection, the
money from which will be spent on ‘special projects’. This program is being launched because although a
substantial amount of money has been spent in the conservation and improvement of the river, it has not
yielded desired results because of lack of concerted efforts by the stakeholders.
A sum of Rs 100 crore has been set aside for Ghat development and beautification of the river front at
Kedarnath, Haridwar, Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Patna and Delhi in the current financial year since
river fronts and Ghats are not only places of rich historical heritage but many of these are sacred, the
Finance Minister said. Interestingly, there is no Ghat on the banks of the river Alaknanda at Kedarnath.
After the Uttarakhand tragedy of 2013, the river has cut a wide channel eating away half of the landmass.
Experts opine that a ghat at Kedarnath is a dangerous proposition since there is no land for ghat. Even if a
ghat is carved out, it may trigger a massive landslide.
This is perhaps the biggest allocation for the Ganga since it got the status of the National River in
November 2008. In February 2009, the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGBRA) was set up and in
the budget of 2009-10 Rs 562 crore was allocated for cleaning up the river.
During Ganga Manthan, a multi stakeholders meet on the Ganga in the first week of July, Union Minister
for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari talked about the Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s ambitious plan for “aviral aur nirmal (continuous and clean)” Ganga which may cost Rs 80,000
crore. The Union minister for Water Resources Uma Bharti said that the government may provide around
30 per cent of this sum through viability-gap funding and the rest could be raised through a public-private
partnership (PPP) model.
The Ganga Manthan also revealed the Modi sarkar’s blueprint for Ganga revival: Develop the river as a
tourism and navigation hub, while stopping the inflow of pollutants into the river.
On the tourism front, the government proposed a massive project along the river, which will reportedly
include river cruising facilities, floating hotels and moving light and sound shows. “Our ministry is
exploring the possibility of introducing shikaras on Ganga on the pattern of Kashmir,” Tourism Minister
Shripad Naik said at the meeting.
Besides tourism, the government also plans on utilising the river as a means of transport with boats
travelling between Varanasi and Hoogly, something Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had stated as his top
priority when he took over the ministry. “Barrages cum bridges are proposed to be constructed at every
100 kms on the river and the ministry has sent the proposal to World Bank for development of AllahabadHaldia corridor,” he added.
It is a gigantic task to make the Ganges navigational as about five meters silt has settled in the river
between Bamrauli and Phaphamau at Allahabad. Officers of the Inland waterways Authority of India
opine that a cargo ship could navigate if the depth of the river is two meters but at Sangam, upstream
and downstream both, the depth is hardly 80 cms. The Ganges requires desiltification for navigational
purpose.
Way back in 1998, the first cargo ship came to the Saraswati Ghat at Allahabad from Haldia. Again in
2003, MV Rajgopalachari cargo ship navigated between the Saraswati Ghat and Haldia. The cargo service
continued for a few years only.
Dams:
A well-entrenched lobby of environmentalists is again out to point out that the construction of dams on
the Ganges and its tributaries in the Himalayan Hills is the biggest menace to the river.
In March 2011, Uttarakhand state Vidhan Sabha unanimously passed the resolution against the
intentions of Union Ministry of Environment and Forest to declare Gaumukh to Uttarkashi as ecosensitive zone. However ignoring the federal structure of our democracy and insulting the elected
representatives of the state, the Central government decided to go ahead with the declaration of the
area as Eco sensitive zone, rues Awadhash Kaushal, Chairperson of RLEK, a NGO.
A Group of Ministers (GoM) under the Chairmanship of the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee,
Minister for Power and Minister of State (I/C) for Environment & Forests in the meeting held in July 2010
considered the report of the high power committee constituted to examine the implications of
discontinuing the Loharinag Pala hydroelectric project. After detailed discussions, decision was taken- “In
view of the fact that substantial work on the project has already been done and significant expenditure
incurred, it was decided that this project may be allowed to continue”.
Jairam Ramesh, the then Union Minister admitted that the area from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi was
declared Eco sensitive zone only to stall the Hydel power projects of Loharinag pala (600 MW), Pala
Maneri (480MW) and Bhairon Ghati (381MW), which were abandoned even when they were almost
ready, after spending crores of the state exchequer, and the result was severe power and water crisis
being faced by North India.
Earlier, dismissing a petition challenging the Vishnugad-Piplakoti hydroelectric project by Vimal Bhai of
Nadi Bachao and Dr. Bharat Jhunjhunwala in September 2009, a bench of Justices Mr. HL Dattu and Mr,
Rajan Gagoi of the Supreme Court said that, “the moment a power project is to start, litigation gets filed
in court”. Deprecating this practice the bench said, “if initially the project cost is 1,000 crore, it goes upto
Rs 10,000 crore over and tax payer is wasted – We really wonder people in this country say we don’t
want hydroelectric plant or nuclear power plant, but everybody wants bijli (electricity) and dismissed the
petition without granting liberty to the counsel to withdraw the appeal”. The petitioners had earlier
moved The National Green Tribunal, which found no fault in the clearance given to the project which is
designed to be a 65 meter tall diversion dam, being developed by Tehri Hydro Development Corporation.
Similarly, disposing the SLP (Special Leave Petition) in the case of Alkananda Power project a bench of the
Supreme Court Mr. Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Mr. Justice Dipak Misra ordered on 31st January, 2012
that- “We make it clear that the construction of the dam may go on without any hindrance however,
during the interregnum period, public hearing by the ministry of Environment And Forest as directed by
the high court, shall remain stayed”.
But the environmentalists continue to argue that “The Ganga is in serious danger from 600 dams that are
either operational, under construction or proposed. These dams will not only obstruct the river’s natural
flow and divert water into tunnels to power turbines, but will also have cascading effect on the livelihood
of communities and the biodiversity and stability of the surrounding natural ecosystems. Downstream
communities also face the danger of flash floods when water is released from the dams.”
What about pollution?
Dams aside, any effective revival plan will have to tackle the other great threat, of toxic sewage, both
industrial as well as domestic.
Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh used to be first town on the Ganges downstream but a new township,
consisting of Ashrams, restaurants and hotels have sprung up during the last three or four decades on
both the banks of the river, stretching from Rishikesh to Hardwar.
Saints, manning these Ashrams kvetch vigorously about the danger to the river but these Ashrams
continue to spew untreated sewage into the river at the point where it enters into the plains. An
estimated three billion litres of sewage from over a hundred towns and cities flow into the river daily.
The sewage treatment plants in big cities remain idle due to the want of electricity. A 2012 study
commissioned by the Banaras Hindu University’s Centre for Environmental Science and Technology
counted 33,000 cremations over a period of 12 months, using more than 16,000 tonnes of firewood. The
study further states that more than 700 tonnes of ash and partially burnt skeletal material found its way
into the Ganga.
Julian Crandall Hollick writes in his book “Ganga” (2007): “There was frequently a lack of coordination. In
the largest cities sewage treatment plants were built to great fanfare but to handle the amount of
sewage generated in 1986. No one seems to have thought ahead, ten, twenty, even thirty years. Result?
They were already inadequate in 1986, and the problem has only got worse since then. The untreated
sewage is often simply poured directly back into the river.”
The Central Ganga Authority opted for two standard measurements that had been used in rivers in the
West – Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) -but were no longer. Vinod Tare, a
professor of Environmental Engineering at the IIT, Kanpur says, “They are basically irrelevant to the
health of Ganga. We never had a DO problem at Kanpur before 1986 but the BOD levels were extremely
high upstream as the BOD is from farmer’s fields upstream of Kanpur, it’s from the fertilisers and
pesticides washed out of those fields into the river.”
A farmer in Gangetic plains 10 kms away from the river applies fertilisers on his fields to increase yields.
Come the monsoon and the residue of the fertiliser get washed down and eventually into the river. After
the monsoon has spent its fury, the hot Indian sun stimulates the growth of far more algae than the
resources of the river can absorb. Algae bloom, especially if they feast on untreated sewage from nullah!
Algae are not usually considered beneficial; they suffocate rivers, prevent the sun’s ultra-violet rays
acting on plants under water. But before they start to decompose and consume the available oxygen they
photosynthesise and so raise DO levels in the water. Therefore, one has to know a great deal about the
local physical condition of the river to use DO as a measure.
Moreover, the Thames Valley Water Authority was the official consultants to the Ganga Action Plan.
Julian Crandall Hollick raises a question: “Why were they chosen in the first place to design the
parameters for the cleanup of the Ganga – a tropical not a temperate river? The Anglophile mindset of
Delhi. West is Best, though on the 21st century the locus of West has probably shifted from London to
Washington DC.”
Today, many Western scientists also question the choice of DO, because it’s such a tricky thing to
measure. The WHO no longer even lists it as one of its criteria.
Hollick adds: “So much money has been wasted of this flaw. Plants and systems have been designed
which are particularly ill-suited to Indian conditions because of a second flaw – they all rely on a constant
supply of electricity, the one thing no one can guarantee in northern India. The Original Ganga Action
Plan (GAP) to intercept, divert and treat raw sewage is also admirable as far as it goes. But in Kanpur
there’s yet another basic design failure – The Dutch sold a wrong technology”.
The great traveler, Eric Newby in his book: Slowly Down the Ganges (1983) says, “In most standard works
of reference the Ganges does not even rate an entry in the tables which list the great rivers of the world.
Even the Brahmaputra and the Indus are longer. But it is a great river. It is great because, to millions of
Hindus, it is the most sacred, most venerated river on earth. For them it is Ganga Ma – Mother Ganges.
To bathe in it is to wash away guilt. To drink the water, having bathed in it, and to carry it away in bottles
is meritorious. To be cremated on its banks, having died there, and to have one’s ashes cast in its waters,
is the wish of every Hindu.
“The Ganges was not always so highly regarded. When the Aryan invaders first entered India they were
more impressed by the Indus. It was only later they gave Ganga the highest position, as Sursari, River of
the Gods – perhaps because they found out that its water has remarkable properties. Bottled, it will keep
for at least a year. At its confluence with the River Jumna which, particularly at the time of the great fair
which takes place there every January, contains dangerous Ecoli, the Ganges itself is said to be free of
them. At Banaras thousands drink the water every day at bathing places which are close to the outfalls of
appalling open drains. They appear to survive. The presence of large numbers of decomposing corpses
seems to have no adverse effect on it.”
Ilija Trojanow, in his travelogue: Along the Ganga (2005) says, “In June 1986, the then prime minister,
Rajiv Gandhi, inaugurated the Ganga Action Plan at Dasaswamedha Ghat (Varanasi), to the fanfare of
publicity and with a total budget of over 300 million dollars. Enormous amounts were channeled into
monster projects with expensive machinery, and all parties concerned got hefty kickbacks out of it.
Medicines were prescribed even before the illness had been properly diagnosed. At one point they even
released turtles into the Ganga, around 30,000 of them, in the hope that they would eat up the corpses.
Most of them were poached at once, and the remaining ones seem to have lost their appetite; in any
case, today in Varanasi you will not find a single turtle.
Now Modi has taken a solemn pledge to rejuvenate the Ganges. “Cosmetic surgery is not the solution for
Ganga. Riverfront development may improve its beauty, but it won’t ensure cleaning up of the river,” VN
Mishra, chairperson of the Sankat Mochan Foundation, Varanasi. And a dirty Ganga is not a luxury we can
long afford.
http://www.theindianrepublic.com/tbp/can-afford-dirty-ganges-100044289.html
Extra Ganga water now from Aug 15
GHAZIABAD: The proposed increase in supply of potable water for Ghaziabad and Noida residents under
Ganga Action Plan Phase-II, which was set to begin in July, has now been pushed to August 15.
Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam (UPJN) is laying pipelines under railway tracks near ABES Engineering College in
Ghaziabad for the water that originates from the Ganga in Haridwar. Box culverts have already been
placed under the tracks and pipes are being fixed.
"There is some work pending in joining the pipes. We hope to conduct trial runs on the pipeline soon,"
said R K Agarwal, project manager, UPJN.
"The water comes via the Upper Ganga Canal. It arrives here through a pipeline from Masuri Dasna along
NH 24," he added
Completion of the 100-cusec Ganga Jal project would ensure that Ghaziabad receives an additional 49
million litres per day (MLD) of Ganga water.
At present, it gets 75 MLD. Noida, which receives 48 MLD at present, will be ensured an additional 192
MLD after the project is completed.
Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA), Noida Authority (NA) and UP Housing Board have jointly
funded the second phase of this project, which is being executed by UPJN at a total cost of Rs 210 crore.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/Extra-Ganga-water-now-from-Aug15/articleshow/39259473.cms
Ganga water potable only up to Rishikesh, SC told
DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government in its affidavit before the Supreme Court has asserted that
Ganga water from Gangotri to Laxman Jhula was safe for drinking. Further downstream in Haridwar and
Roorkee, however, the water is not fit for humans to drink.
The apex court in its hearing on April 16 and May 5, had directed the state government to provide a
status report to the court about the quality of the water and water purifying equipment.
In his affidavit, YK Mishra, project manager of Payjal Nigam (drinking water corporation), informed the SC
about a project to install a water treatment plant in Haridwar this year in his affidavit.
"The report was submitted on the basis of an analysis of the last three years. Ganga water from Gangotri
to Laxman Jhula was found to be of high quality. It is pure and drinkable. The water quality in Haridwar
and Roorkee is graded in the B category. The water cannot be consumed here. However, devotees can
take a dip in this water," he said.
The report also puts the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) in the dock, saying that the onus of
maintaining water quality is on the SPCB.
SPCB chairman Vinod Singhal said the board had been testing the river's water at 28 different points in
the Uttarakhand and it sends reports to the Central Pollution Control Board regularly. He added that the
SPCB also stays in touch with the departments concerned about action required for the removal of
pollutants from the water. He added that to ensure cleanliness of the Ganga coordinated efforts from
several departments is necessary.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Dehradun/Ganga-water-potable-only-up-to-Rishikesh-SCtold/articleshow/39431953.cms
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/422980/ukhand-govt-apprises-sc-ganga.html
Germany Keen to Advise, Assist India for Ganga River Clean-Up
Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious initiative to clean up the river Ganga has attracted
interest from Germany, which is keen on providing its expertise to carry out the multi-billion dollar
project.
The Modi government is determined to clean up the Ganga which has become heavily polluted due to
industrial and human waste. It has allocated Rs. 2,037 crore for the task in its first Union Budget
presented last month.
"There is an improved sentiment in the country, which makes it an attractive destination for Germany to
do business with. Apart from other sectors, we would like to assist the government in cleaning up the
Ganges, which is an ambitious project of the new government," German deputy consul general Michael
Ott told PTI.
He said that since his country has the experience in this area after it cleaned the longest European river,
the 1,232-km Rhine, it can provide its expertise to the Modi government to take up the mammoth task.
"The Rhine, which was the most polluted river in the Europe, is so clean today that the water can be used
for drinking as well. We would like to participate in this initiative and I believe we will be able to do it,"
Mr Ott said.
The government has created a separate ministry, the Ganga Rejuvenation Ministry, under Uma Bharti. It
is also planning to set up an NRI fund to boost the Ganga cleaning efforts.
The army has also proposed to set up a task force under a retired Lieutenant General to carry out the
project efficiently.
The army is understood to have submitted a proposal to the government to set up a task force under a
retired Lt General with a team of 40 officers who would help in cleaning the holy river.
The over 2,500-km long Ganga river flows through one of the most densely populated regions of the
Gangetic Plains, supporting a population of over 400 million, almost a third of the national population.
Mr Ott further said that Germany is also keen on investing in water waste and sewage treatment as well
as renewable power sectors, apart from education and healthcare.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/germany-keen-to-advise-assist-india-for-ganga-river-clean-up570219
July 2014
Check in at the Ganges
Planning to go sight-seeing on the Ganga? You might soon get to spend a couple of days and nights on it.
As part of the Ganga rejuvenation scheme to boost tourism on the sacred river, the Narendra Modi-led
central government wants to float hotels on it. This was discussed at an inter-ministerial meeting on
Monday and the first such project is likely to start near Patna.
The concept is similar to Floatel, a floating hotel - it did not move, though - which was set up in Kolkata in
the 1990s on the banks of the Hooghly river.
"The floating hotel will be different from a cruise in that it will not sail from one point to another. And,
unlike a houseboat, it will travel only short distances and offer sightseeing tours on the Ganga," a senior
government official informs.
According to a senior hotel company executive, "at a time when real estate procurement is a big
challenge, not having to scout for land is certainly an advantage for these hotels."
The project will be anchored by the tourism ministry, which is part of the inter-ministerial committee on
Ganga, in partnership with private operators. The ministry had earlier taken luxury hotel chains like Taj,
Oberoi, ITC to Varanasi for a recce before setting up units there; it will now seek private-sector
participation for this venture as well.
Though the concept of a "floating hotel" is still in the ideation stage, hospitality experts are critical and
question economic viability of such a project. "Such hotels will be solely dependent on leisure travel.
These won't have a mix of clientele which goes against the principle of running hotels. The Ganga
experience might be an advantage, but there will be a big seasonality factor involved," says
Achin Khanna, managing director of HVS India, a leading consultancy.
The state governments of Maharashtra and Goa, too, have in the past toyed with the idea of starting
such hotels on their shores, but the idea hasn't moved forward. P Srinivas, director (hospitality) at
Cushman and Wakefield, another international consulting firm, says: "Unless a big brand comes forward
to manage these hotels and provide a huge distribution network, it will be a challenge."
The tourism ministry, however, is confident that the floating hotels will find traction among both
domestic and foreign tourists. A host of other measures to make this an attractive proposition for tourists
are also in the offing. From the upkeep of waterfront buildings to recreational activities like 3D light-andsound shows on water, etc, are being planned to make the Ganga plan work.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/check-in-at-the-ganges-114072300102_1.html
U’khand to devise new policy on rafting
DEHRADUN: For the first time, the Uttarakhand tourism department will formulate a policy on the
number of rafts that will be allowed in the Ganges with a view to avoiding accidents during the rafting
season.
Rafting, which is a popular adventure sport and draws thrill-seekers from all over the country, has also
witnessed casualties over the years due to overturning of the raft in the river. In May, a 48-year-old
Russian tourist drowned after his raft capsized on the Ganga in Uttarkashi, while in March last year, two
persons drowned in separate incidents during rafting.
The sport was halted in the state on June 15 due to the rainy season and it will begin in September. In the
intervening period, no fresh licences will be issued to those wishing to start their rafting business and the
tourism department will formulate its policy before the next season starts again, a tourism department
official said.
"The department has suspended the licence process only for the Ganga, whereas for other rivers in the
state like Bhagirathi, Alaknanada, Kali, Sharda, Yamuna, Tons, Sharda and Ram Ganga, the applications
for licence can be submitted by July 31," said AK Dwivedi, joint director, Uttarakhand Tourism
Development Board.
Another official, on condition of anonymity, said, "The tourism department has been censured for failing
to enact any policy in this regard for all these years even as accidents and causalities were taking place in
Rishikesh every year. The issue of Ganges is now getting renewed interest among officials of the tourism
department after the prime minister brought the river into the limelight. Hence, it can no longer be
ignored."
He said a new rafting and kayaking policy will be drafted before the upcoming season begins where the
number of rafts and kayaks will be fixed for popular stretches in the river.
Rafters are offering various packages on stretches like Shivpuri to Rishikesh, Marine Drive to Rishikesh,
Kodiyala to Risihikesh and Rudraprayag to Rishikesh. These stretches always have a high density of rafts
during the peak summer season, increasing the chance of accidents.
Kiran Bhatt, president of the Uttarakhand Rafting Association, however, said that more than a third of the
rafting companies are illegal and the government's new policy should check this trend. "The Ganges has
always been a safe river for rafting. However, illegal rafters, unfortunately vastly outnumber the legal
ones and usually flout the rules, leading to accidents. While devising any new policy for rafting, the
tourism department must incorporate provisions which give no leeway to illegal rafters."
He added that on the Kaudiyala-Rishikesh stretch, there are 140 legal rafting companies and 310 illegal
ones at present.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/Ukhand-to-devise-new-policy-onrafting/articleshow/38878527.cms
Naik seeks Akhilesh's support for Modi's clean Ganga project
LUCKNOW: Newly appointed governor Ram Naik projected himself as a seasoned statesman at his
maiden press conference when he sought the support of the Samajwadi Party government for prime
minister Narendra Modi's 'Clean Ganga' project.
Speaking to media persons after taking over the charge, Naik said he would like the programmes and
plans of the two governments (Centre and UP) implemented. "For example if the Centre government has
taken up the Ganga river development as its project, the state should support it," Naik said.
In an effort to show that he shares a congenial ties with leaders of other parties, the veteran BJP leader
said that as soon as his name was declared as UP's governor, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and SP chief
Mulayam Singh Yadav were the first to greet him. Before coming to Lucknow, he also met President
Pranab Mukherjee and gifted him a copy of the Constitution. "I would abide by the same precious book,"
he said.
At his maiden press conference, Naik chose not to rake up any controversy and avoided comment on
poor law and order situation in the state. He also made it clear that he won't review the decision of his
predecessor Aziz Qureshi granting minority status to the Maulana Jauhar Ali University. He also clarified
that if he would not hold 'janata durbar', but maintain his public contacts.
When his attention was drawn towards his earlier comments on the law and order situation in UP, Naik
said he had said that the law and order situation needed review all over the country and not singled out
any state. When asked about the challenges before him and his priority as the new head of state, he said
it was too early for him to comment as he had just taken over. But definitely as the chancellor of state
universities, higher education would be his top priority.
Naik, who has twice served as the Union minister, lashed out at the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS)
and its chief Raj Thakrey for indulging in destructive politics despite having lost deposits in all seats in the
recent elections. He however downplayed the issue of frequent attacks on North Indians in Maharashtra
by saying the situation was not as serious as it was being projected and some political outfits like MNS
were exploiting such sentiments.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Naik-seeks-Akhileshs-support-for-Modis-clean-Gangaproject/articleshow/38892340.cms
World Bank President promises to help India in cleaning river Ganga
New Delhi: World Bank President Jim Yong Kim promised to help India in cleaning up the river Ganga. The
remarks came after Kim met Prime Minister Modi on Wednesday and also discussed a host of issues.
Kim has said that they will send their best team to India to work on the project.
Here is an excerpt from the interview:
CNBC-TV18: In terms of governments agreement to clean up the Ganga and there is an agreement with
the World Bank which was in with the previous government, to actually take the project forward. It is a
billion dollar agreement that the world bank has with the government. How confident do you feel about
achieving the objective given the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put his weight behind the
Ganga clean-up operation?
Jim Yong Kim: You know the clean-up of the Ganga is important is so many ways. I actually went through
the Ganga in Kanpur. We saw literally raw sewage being dumped into the Ganga and we also know that
spirtually for the people the Ganga is so important. So very very top priority for us and we understand for
the government as well, this is a hard project. It's a huge project, but we have had great success in other
areas where we have tackled problems of this size. Again if Prime Minister Modi wants this to be a top
thing to work on together, then that's what we will do. It is hard. We happen to have one of the the best
water specialist in the world. We will bring our A+ team here and will do everything we can to help.
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/world-bank-president-promises-to-help-india-in-cleaning-riverganga/487920-3.html
Ganga cleaning gulps a big share of clean energy projects' funds
The National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF), one of the flagship programmes of UPA-II, failed to reach its
beneficiaries, as the amount from it is now diverted to environment projects, the major one being
cleaning and developing inland waterways on the river Ganga.
NCEF, which totals up to Rs 14,000 crore currently, is collected through cess on coal purchase and import.
The cess amount was increased to Rs 100 a tonne from Rs 50 a tonne in the National Democratic Alliance
(NDA)'s maiden Union Budget, last week.
"This would increase the annual collection to Rs 6,000 crore from the last year's Rs 3,500 crore. But a
major amount from it would now go to the Ganga cleaning project, as per the Budget statement," said a
senior official at the ministry of new and renewable energy.
Awaiting projects: 750 Mw solar mission projects, subsidy for solar off-grid applications, rooftop solar
schemes; Green Energy Corridor & National Wind Mission
About Rs 1,500 crore from the NCEF has been diverted for the Ganga cleaning project. Ministry of new
and renewable energy (MNRE) officials said in the past three years of its existence, projects totalling Rs
12,000 crore were sanctioned to be funded through the money collected in NCEF but the ministry hasn't
received partial amount, in bits and parts.
"There is a payment backlog of more than Rs 10,000 crore for clean energy projects. In spite of allocating
money to these projects, which are still awaiting disbursement, a part of the ministry's budget was
funded through NCEF. In technical terms, it's wastage of a cess pool set up for development of clean
energy projects in the country," said the official quoted above.
Among the beneficiaries are 750 Mw solar power projects tendered under the National Solar Mission in
January this year, 1,000 Mw of solar power projects to come up in defence-owned areas, subsidy for offgrid solar applications totalling Rs 1,500 crore and soft loans by Indian Renewable Energy Development
Agency Ltd (IREDA) to clean energy projects.
The heavy weight projects depending on NCEF for their funding are Rs 40,000-crore Green Energy
Corridor project and to be launched National Wind Energy Mission, which will entail a total expenditure
of Rs 18,000 crore.
"With the government announcing in the Budget that the money collected as coal cess would also be
used for financing and promoting clean environment initiatives and funding research in the area of clean
environment, there is a big question mark on how much amount would be used to fund renewable
energy projects," said a senior MNRE official.
MNRE officials said apart from the budgetary support, the ministry would require an additional Rs 2,000
crore from the NCEF to fund the shortlisted projects under this fund.
The NCEF was announced in the Union Budget of 2010-11 for promoting clean energy in the country. Due
to lack of inter-ministerial coordination over identifying the correct beneficiaries, projects worth Rs
10,000 crore are stalled for want of allocation of funds from the NCEF, the ministry officials said.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/ganga-cleaning-gulps-a-big-share-of-cleanenergy-projects-funds-114072300137_1.html
Action plan for Ganga, Yamuna clean-up by this year-end: Government
NEW DELHI: An action plan for the clean-up of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers may be formulated by the
end of this year after consultation with stakeholders, the government informed Rajya Sabha today.
In his reply to a question on when the government proposes to formulate an action plan for cleaning the
Ganga and Yamuna, Minister of State for Water Resources, Santosh Kumar Gangwar, said that it is
expected to be drawn up by December of this year following consultations with stakeholders.
Since the inception of the National Ganga River Basin Authority ( NGRBA), 76 schemes at a total cost of Rs
5,004.19 crore have been sanctioned in 48 towns in the states through which the Ganga passes.
"Against this, Rs 1,229.87 crore has been released by the Centre, including the matching share of the
states so far, and a total expenditure of Rs 838.76 crore has been incurred till March 2014 for
implementation of the projects," Gangwar said.
A Memorandum of Agreement for 10 years was signed in 2010 by the Ministry of Environment and
Forests and a consortium of seven IITs for preparation of a comprehensive Ganga River Basin
Management Plan (GRBMP).
The National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, BHU, and various universities and research institutes are
also involved in the GRBMP, he added.
"An interim report has been submitted, which is being sent to different ministries, departments and
other stakeholders for comments," the minister further stated.
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-07-21/news/51830778_1_yamuna-action-planganga-river-basin-authority
Floods in Uttarakhand may rise Ganga level
ALLAHABAD: Heavy rain and floods in Uttarakhand in the past one week may further rise the level of
water in Ganga and Yamuna. Torrential downpour in the city and other catchment areas in the past three
to four days had already risen the volume of water in the two rivers and tributaries like Betwa, Chambal
and Ken.
With flooded water in tributaries from the state gushing in the two rivers, the district administration is
yet to come out with a plan to evacuate residents living in low-lying areas.
The district administration claimed that it will take around a week for water to reach the rivers here.
In the past three or four days, the city received 22 mm of heavy downpour, with the total rainfall
touching 55 mm in July till date, further leading to increase in the level in the two rivers.
The level had also increased in prominent tributaries of Ganga and Yamuna like Ken, Betwa and Chambal.
The data provided by the executive engineer, irrigation (flood control) stated that incessant rain has led
to increase of water level in Yamuna passing through the Naini to 72.69 metres.
The danger level of the river in the city has been fixed at 84.73 metres.
The level of Ganga, passing through Phaphamau in the city, increased by 222 centimetres in past six days
to 76.53 metres on Monday noon.
At Chatnag, the level was recorded at 72.14 metres. The danger level of Ganga in the city had been fixed
at 84.73 metres.
Meanwhile, the Central Water Commission had predicted that water level of the two rivers will increase
constantly.
"The flood water from Uttarakhand will reach the city within six days so water level is being constantly
monitored," executive engineer J P Verma said.
The flood water usually inches towards the low-lying localities of Daraganj, Chhota Baghara, Shivkuti,
Chandpur Saloni, Rasoolabad, Bakshi Bandh and Naini.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Floods-in-Uttarakhand-may-rise-Gangalevel/articleshow/38842610.cms
Recall proposal to construct barrages on Ganga: RS member
A demand was made in the Rajya Sabha today for recalling the proposals to construct barrages on the
Ganges river.
Raising the issue in his special mention, Ali Anwar Ansari (JD-U) demanded "withdrawal of the proposal of
construction of a series of barrages on the river Ganga."
V Maitreyan (AIADMK) urged the government to take steps to promote the holy city of Kumbakonam as a
centre of tourist importance.
In another special mention, Saifuddin Soz (Cong) said adequate number of mobile phone towers should
be installed to provide connectivity to hinterlands of Kishtwar district in Jammu and Kashmir.
In his mention, Paul Manoj Pandian (AIADMK) demanded that vacancies of judges in various High Courts
of the country particularly Madras High Court be filled.
Expressing concern over rising population, Bhupinder Singh (BJD) said there was a need to control
population spurt.
A K Selvaraj (AIADMK) drew the attention of the government towards the need to widen certain highway
stretches in Tamil Nadu while Tiruchi Siva (DMK) demanded constitution of the Cauvery Management
Board to implement final orders of the Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal.
In his mention, Narendra Kumar Kashyap (BSP) said the constituional right of reservation of people
belonging to SC/ST/OBC communities in Jammu and Kashmir should be protected.
Avtar Singh Karimpuri (BSP) demanded concrete steps to reduce the increasing child and maternal
mortality rate among SC/ST and OBC communities.
Bimla Kashyap Sood (BJP) in her special mention demanded building of a new airport in Shimla while
Shambhuprasad Baldevdasji Tundiya (BJP) demanded the setting up a Coast Guard Station at Hajira in
Gujarat.
Motilal Vora (Cong) demanded an inquiry into frequent accidents concerning naval warships recently.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/recall-proposal-to-construct-barrages-on-gangars-member-114072301636_1.html
Cleaning the Ganga and Yamuna rivers is still a distant dream
There has been much talk by politicians about cleaning up India's polluted rivers, the Ganges, also known
as the Ganga, and the Yamuna. But is there any real hope for these polluted rivers, asks Manoj Misra.
The Ganges and the Yamuna are considered two of India's most sacred rivers, but human activity,
improper cremation of the dead and open defecation have left the rivers extremely polluted. Image: Pal
Teravagimov / Shutterstock.com
Narendra Modi isn’t India’s first prime minister to draw the nation’s attention to the sad state of the river
Ganga, with a promise to restore its glory, although his language and commitment to the cause of Maa
(Mother) Ganga’s restoration appears direct and forceful. There is also talk of what is being presented as
the Sabarmati model for rejuvenation of other rivers, in particular the river Yamuna in Delhi.
It was Rajiv Gandhi, the then prime minister, who in 1985 first heralded the era of river cleaning in India
and launched the Ganga Action Plan, GAP, with an objective of improving water quality of the river Ganga
and its tributaries to bathing levels. All subsequent governments have not only continued with the
programme but expanded its scope and coverage, so much so that by the end of December 2012,
according to the annual report of the Environment Ministry, some Rs 4,032 crore (US$672 million) were
spent on cleaning 41 rivers of the country across 190 towns in 20 states.
In 2012, the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology,
Environment & Forests, in its 224th report on demands for grants (2012-2013) that pertains to allocations
under the XI and XII Five Year Plan of the Ministry of Environment & Forests, presented to the Rajya
Sabha on 18th May, 2012 ruefully stated:
“The Committee takes note of fact that the initiative to clean Ganga started somewhere in the VI Five
Year Plan under Ganga Action Plan. Thereafter, Ganga Action Plan-II and some other schemes with
different names were operationalized by the Ministry but the end result is for everyone to see. The
quality of Ganga water is going down day by day.”
Like GAP, there have been Yamuna Action Plans (YAP) in operation since 1993-94 with Japanese
assistance. By the end of second phase of YAP in 2011, some Rs 1,500 crore had been spent on trying to
clean the largest tributary of the Ganga, but with little success.
The fact is that river cleaning efforts since the mid-1980s have clearly failed to help revive or restore our
rivers. Even after 30 years of the launch of Ganga Action Plan, there is not a single example of
government-led successful river restoration in the country.
So, can we now expect miracles from the new Modi-led government?
In this context, the comment of Uma Bharti, the minister in charge of rivers, fills one with hope when she
rejects the use of the term river ‘cleaning’ and uses the term river ‘rejuvenation’ instead. Some might ask
what difference this makes. Bu it can make a lot of difference, when it comes to revival and restoration of
rivers.
The quickest path to river rejuvenation is to let a river system be. This means a situation where a river, its
tributaries and distributaries are allowed to “flow, freely and naturally” and “flood, freely and naturally”.
It must be understood that rivers are a natural system, and act like human veins and arteries for the
earth. Just like a damaged artery can result in a serious health issue, so would a damaged river system for
the nation and the earth.
But then that would entail removing existing obstructions to the flow like dams, barrages and
embankments which trap a river within a restricted space. An ideal state for our rivers but one that the
votaries of rapid economic growth would find preposterous.
Environmentalists and sadhus emphasized the need to remove existing obstructions and not to place
new ones at the Ganga Manthan meeting called recently by Bharti to decide how to rejuvenate the river.
But there was little mention of this in the official statement after the meeting, nor did this point of view
find any echo in the programmes outlined in the Namami Ganga programme to rejuvenate the river, and
for which a large amount of money has been allocated in this year’s budget.
We must understand that it is far more important and sustainable to have a ‘healthy’ and ‘happy’ nation
than a ‘wealthy’ but ‘sick’ nation.
For health, as a nation we must breathe clean air, have access to and eat healthy food, and drink clean
and wholesome water. This shall be possible only when our air is clean, soils are healthy and rivers have
been revived and rejuvenated.
Above all, it must be understood that rivers are a natural system, and act like human veins and arteries
for the earth. Just like a damaged artery can result in a serious health issue, so would a damaged river
system for the nation and the earth.
Talking about specifics, the Modi government has been highlighting the rejuvenation of river Sabarmati in
Gujarat as a success story. But we do not think so. What has been done is that a mirage of a river over
mere 10.5 km of its total length of 350 km has been created passing through the city of Ahmedabad and
that too at the cost of the river’s floodplains. Even the water present in Sabarmati doesn’t belong to the
river itself, but has been taken from Narmada through a canal that happens to pass through the north of
Ahmedabad. Clearly when there has not been any rejuvenation of the river properly, then how can it be
championed as a role model for other rivers?
In more tangible and direct terms, the Ganga-Yamuna river system shall be truly restored only when their
needs are understood and addressed in entirety. When each of their tributaries are given as much
attention as the main river channels; when their ecological flows and security of flood plains are ensured
by law and when the restoration of Ganga-Yamuna truly becomes a people’s movement and does not
remain just a government run river ‘cleaning’ effort, only then will the rivers be truly conserved.
It’s too early to judge the actions and policies of Narendra Modi and Uma Bharti and only time will tell
whether the current good and sincere intentions have resulted in finding the correct roadmap and taking
right actions with sound and sustained results.
http://www.eco-business.com/opinion/cleaning-ganga-and-yamuna-rivers-still-distant-dream/
Minister hopeful, experts doubt efficacy of Ganga Manthan
Modi likely to share views with stakeholders at 'Ganga Manthan'Ganga Manthan today to discuss river
cleaning planCentre to hold 'Ganga Manthan' before finalizing its river rejuvenati...Ganga Marathon
begins today
VARANASI: Union minister of state for water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation
Santosh Kumar Gangwar in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Thursday said that the views expressed in
recently held 'Ganga Manthan' would be helpful for the preparation of a road map to prepare a
comprehensive plan to rejuvenate the Ganga but the local experts are not optimistic about fruitful
results.
Ganga Manthan was organized on July 7 at New Delhi to facilitate interaction with various stakeholders
like policy makers and implementers, academicians, environmentalists, spiritual leaders and NGOs. The
event was organized by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), a society under ministry of
environment and rorests (MoEF) for implementing the Ganga pollution abatement programme under
National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA). It was aimed to provide a platform to discuss issues and
solutions to the challenging task of Ganga rejuvenation.
"In entire deliberations, the vital issue of how to ensure the free flow of Ganga right from Gomukh was
not discussed. How we can talk about a road map when we are not clear about our objective," wondered
BD Tripathi, an environmental scientist. All raised the issue of uninterrupted flow of Ganga, but the point
how it could be done went missing in the Ganga Manthan. The government should learn lessons from the
past mistakes of Ganga Action Plan phase-I. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the chairman of NGRBA, he
should hold its meeting for detailed discussion and action as well.
Another participant Vishwambhar Nath Mishra said that the government should not repeat the past
mistakes. "I have doubts that something fruitful will come out of the discussion as there were lots of
confusions," he said. The government should first decide whether the Ganga will remain in its original
form or it will be utilised commercially, he added.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Varanasi/Minister-hopeful-experts-doubt-efficacy-of-GangaManthan/articleshow/38991189.cms
Germany keen to offer expertise for Ganga clean-up mission
NEW DELHI: Germany is keen to offer its expertise for the Ganga clean-up mission by bringing in the
experience of cleaning Rhine river there.
"Rejuvenation and cleaning of the river Ganga is one of the top priorities of Indian government. We are
now just in the phase where we are going to see how we are going to assist the Indian government in this
important endeavour," Heiko Warnken, head of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany, said
on the sideline of a seminar.
"We wil soon have a mission who will be coming to India with experts from Germany. We have also
cleaned the river Rhine in Germany. We will see how we can assist in the Ganga mission," Warnken said.
According to a 2012 Central Pollution Control Board report, around Rs 20,000 crore has been spent by
the government on various clean-up projects for the Ganga but with very little impact.
Warknken said they have been approached by Indian Water Resource Ministry for the Ganga cleaning
programme. Asked how much fund will be provided by Germany, Warnken said "this is too early to say...
we have to see what is needed to be done".
Asked whether there will be a timeline for the Ganga clean-up as it has a long 2500km riverline, he said
"Rhine is also a long river which comes from Switzerland to Germany. It took almost 10 years to clean
Rhine."
To a question whether Rhine experience will be replicated in the Ganga, he said "we do not know
whether it will be immedaitely replicated, it will take some adjustments of course. But definitely some
lessons learnt from the river Rhine and experience can be of use."
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-07-24/news/51982116_1_ganga-rhine-mission
Clean Ganga drive: Centre gives clearance to 6 new sewage treatment plants
New Delhi: Taking a positive step towards cleaning the holy river Ganga, after Prime Minister Narendra
Modi pledged to rejuvenate it on a priority basis, the Centre has given clearance for six new sewage
treatment plants (STPs).
Sanctioned under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) plan, the STPs will be set-up in Allahabad
in Uttar Pradesh; Beur, Karmalichak and Saidpur (Patna) in Bihar, and Budge Budge and Barrackpore in
West Bengal.
The estimated cost of the whole project will be Rs 1058 crore.
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar was quoted saying by a leading daily that these new plants will
add up the capacity to treat sewage in these cities/towns. The Centre will bear 70% of the cost of these
new projects, the minister added.
Cleaning up the river Ganga has been on top of the National Democratic Alliance government's agenda.
Recently, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced an integrated Ganga development project with a
budget of Rs 2,037 crore. The project will be called Namami Ganga, Jaitley announced in his maiden
Budget.
Apart from this, several other action plans for the cleaning up of Ganga like setting up of toilets in villages
and towns, treating industrial effluent and municipal sewage, setting up of crematoriums etc are too
lined up under the Clean Ganga mission in the next couple of months.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/eco-news/clean-ganga-drive-centre-gives-clearance-to-6-new-sewagetreatment-plants_950023.html
972 units polluting Ganga indentified
Tannery and leather related industrial units mainly in Kanpur and nearby areas are the main reason
behind pollution of Ganga in Uttar Pradesh, revealed a report of the Central Pollution Control Board
while listing 972 polluting industrial units.
The list of 972 units includes 98 seriously polluting industries which have either not installed antipollution devices or have installed anti-pollution devices but are not functioning properly. Those 98
industrial units include Simbhaoli Sprit, Wave industries limited, Harduganj Thermal Power Station, Diesel
Locomotive Works (Varanasi) and others.
The list of industrial units polluting Ganga River in Uttar Pradesh was revealed on July 4 order of the
National Green Tribunal (NGT) which had asked CPCB to upload the list of all polluting units of Uttar
Pradesh discharging effluents in river Ganga and its tributaries in the public domain.
The Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar said closure notices have also been issued in some
cases.
The list of 972 polluting units also includes big names like Tata Chemicals, Ultratech Cement, Jaypee
Cement, power stations of NTPC, Narora Atomic Power Station among others. These industries, however,
fall in the list of those units which have "installed Anti-Pollution Devices and are achieving Norms".
Since its first day, prime minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government has laid special emphasis on
cleaning and rejuvenation of Ganga. An informal group of secretaries of select union ministries and an
informal group of union ministers are also meeting to chalk out a clear roadmap for cleaning and
rejuvenation of India's holy river.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-972-units-polluting-ganga-indentified-2005096
Dyeing units served notice for polluting Ganga
KANPUR: The district administration and the pollution department of Farrukhabad have issued directives
to shut the textile dyeing units operating in residential areas and those polluting the Ganga. The
authorities have identified several dyeing units discharging waste water directly into the Ganga.
The units had been served notices by the Uttar Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) but the
units had not yet complied with the notice and the board has finally asked the district administration to
take action against them. Lakshman Singh, an environmentalist, said around 25 to 30 textile dyeing units
have become one of the major cause of pollution of the Ganga in the district.
Majority of these units operate from residential pockets of the district.
"A team of experts from UPPCB had recently visited the Sahebganj locality where a dyeing unit is located.
They marked several other textile dyeing units also which were releasing dangerous chemicals into the
river without treating them," said assistant engineer UPPCB Prakhar Kumar. The UPPCB has finally
handed the list of these units to district administration for action. Additional city magistrate Shriniwas
Tiwari said a notice with a complaint under Section 33-A of the Water (Prevention and Control of
Pollution) Act 1974 has been received by us from UPPCB.
Tiwari said, "We will be taking action against the units in next few days. The state government has taken
up the issue of making Ganga pollution free seriously and any unit polluting the river will not be spared."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/Dyeing-units-served-notice-for-pollutingGanga/articleshow/38991168.cms
Rejuvenating Ganga: Project to make the river clean & uninterrupted may cost Rs 1 lakh crore
Over the past four years, when experts from seven IITs have brainstormed over several meetings on how
to rejuvenate the river Ganga, they stumbled upon two words in the Hindi lexicon — aviral and nirmal.
None of the professors from IIT Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkee is a
Hindi scholar, but they knew aviral (uninterrupted) and nirmal (clean) would form the crux of their
comprehensive study on the Ganga basin, mandated by the Union ministry of environment ..
And ET Magazine has learnt that their main report likely to be submitted next month may indicate a cost
of a whopping Rs 1 lakh crore to make the Ganga aviral and nirmal.
That's a huge number that gets further magnified when you consider that only Rs 1,825 crore was spent
in cleaning the Ganga between 1985 and 2009 in phases of the Ganga Action Plan, or GAP as it's
popularly called. Suresh Prabhu, who as union environment minister in 1998-99 had implemented phaseII of GAP, recalls: " ..
That comprehensive plan includes cleaning the Ganga's tributaries, city management, tourism
development and creating a navigation channel from Allahabad to Haldia in West Bengal. It's a plan that
calls for, along with huge resources, a large-scale vision.
Quiet Flows the Ganga
Uma Bharti, Union minister for water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation, is confident
of an aviral funding for the project. Her ministry, and not the ministry of ..
Bharti's palpable confidence stems from the solid political backing she has of the prime minister,
Narendra Modi. After all, Varanasi on the banks of the Ganga is Modi's parliamentary constituency. When
Modi decided to retain Varanasi after winning from two seats, Gujarat's Vadodara being the other, he
evoked sentiments attached to the river.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/rejuvenating-ganga-project-to-makethe-river-clean-uninterrupted-may-cost-rs-1-lakh-crore/articleshow/39060126.cms
Rising water level of Ganga alerts authorities
The water level of river Ganga is constantly on the rise and is approaching the danger mark due to release
of water from Narora dam and heavy rainfall in the hills. (Getty Images)
KANPUR: The water level of river Ganga is constantly on the rise and is approaching the danger mark due
to release of water from Narora dam and heavy rainfall in the hills.
The rising water of the Ganga could affect 30 villages along the bank of the river, additional district
magistrate (ADM) Shatrughan Singh said.
He also said that if the level of Ganga crosses the danger level, all the villages will get submerged under
water.
The current water level of Ganga is 113m, just one meter below the danger mark of 114m.
The district authorities are alert and have warned the people residing on the banks to move to a safer
place.
According to Singh, the officials are continuously visiting the probable areas that could be affected by
flood.
No evacuation has taken place yet but the villagers have been cautioned that they might be asked to
leave anytime.
He said that a list of the people living in those areas has been made and once the Ganga crosses the
danger mark, those people will be evacuated and taken to relief camps.
The deputy commissioner of Kanpur, Roshan Jacob has also directed all the administration officials to be
alert and be on their guard to shift the people.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Rising-water-level-of-Ganga-alertsauthorities/articleshow/39061008.cms
175 turtles recovered in Lucknow, released in Ganga
VARANASI: In a joint operation by police and forest department, 175 turtles weighing over 15 quintals,
were seized near Mohansarai bypass in Rohania area on Saturday.
The turtles were being smuggled to West Bengal for being sold in international market. The smugglers
managed to escape. The police seized the vehicle, in which turtles were being transported. The forest
department released the turtles in Ganga at Rajghat.
The police tried to stop a vehicle crossing through the bypass. In an attempt to evade police, the driver
lost control and the vehicle stopped after hitting the road divider. Two smugglers, including the driver,
fled from the scene leaving the vehicle (No UP 33 Q 3435) abandoned.
The recovered turtles, 5 to 50 kg in weight, were packed in bags. The police found a driving licence of a
person identified as Mathura of Rae Bareli. It was suspected that the turtles were being transported from
Rae Bareli.
The seized turtles were handed over to the forest department for releasing them into Ganga. The
recovered turtles belonged to Indian soft shell and Indian tent turtle species.
Smuggling of turtle through Varanasi is common. About 3000 turtles recovered from smugglers were
released into Ganga in last two years. According to report of wildlife trade monitoring network, Varanasi
is one of the places being increasingly used for smuggling of tortoises and freshwater turtles. The final
destination for these turtles, smuggled via Bangkok, is Hong Kong.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/175-turtles-recovered-in-lucknowreleased-in-ganga/articleshow/39099712.cms
Cargo on Ganges in $25 Billion Modi Push to Unclog India
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pledging $25 billion to unclog India’s choked transport links, spur
power output and build cities. His plans include ferrying cargo on the Ganges and expanding gas
pipelines.
The 42 billion-rupee ($700 million), 1,620-kilometer (1,006-mile) freight route on India’s best-known river
was among the most eye-catching projects in Modi’s first budget on July 10. Others included 523 billion
rupees for roads and 500 billion rupees for urban infrastructure funding, part of 1.48 trillion rupees for
everything from highways and ports to housing.
“The measures to boost infrastructure investment amount to a significant down payment on a key policy
priority, although they still amount to only a modest step towards meeting India’s enormous needs,”
Eswar Prasad, who teaches economics at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, said in an e-mail. Modi’s
task is to channel private domestic and foreign investment into such assets, he said.
The budget cleared the way for dedicated investment trusts and eased infrastructure lending rules
toward that goal, steps that Fitch Ratings said may spur long-term capital investment. Modi must now
ensure implementation of his agenda following a landslide election victory in May, after gridlock under
the previous government stalled about $255 billion of projects.
The more he succeeds, the better the outlook for companies that build and power India, whose
infrastructure ranked below China and Indonesia in a World Economic Forum survey.
Financing Costs
Specific beneficiaries may include engineering company Larsen & Toubro Ltd., roads specialist IRB
Infrastructure Developers Ltd., Tata Power Co. Ltd. (TPWR), Cummins India Ltd. (KKC) and Container Corp.
of India, Citigroup Inc. said in a July 11 note.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in the budget speech for the 12 months started April 1 that the
government will minimize the amount of reserves that must be set aside for funds earmarked for
infrastructure lending.
That step is “significant” and the budget “categorically prioritized infrastructure development,” said R.
Shankar Raman, the chief financial officer at Larsen & Toubro in Mumbai. It will help cut financing costs
too, according to SMC Global Securities Ltd.
The lending measure could also bolster earnings at IDFC Ltd. (IDFC), India’s biggest lender to road
projects, by as much as 20 percent, according to Credit Suisse Group AG.
Market Optimism
Jaitley boosted plan spending -- or expenditure on productive assets -- by almost 200 billion rupees, to
5.75 trillion rupees, compared with the previous government’s interim budget in February. He also plans
to ease foreign-direct investment caps in defense and insurance to woo inflows.
Optimism that Modi can revitalize Asia’s No. 3 economy has fueled an 18 percent surge in the benchmark
S&P BSE Sensex Index (SENSEX) this year, more than the rise of about 4 percent in the MSCI Asia-Pacific
Index. The rupee has strengthened 2.8 percent against the dollar in the same period.
Analysts at banks including Deutsche Bank AG and Nomura Holdings Inc. saw the budget as a missed
chance to take tough measures on subsidies. Jaitley estimated higher tax revenues and asset sales will
help pare the fiscal deficit to a seven-year low of 4.1 percent of gross domestic product.
Modi’s government is trying to control the fiscal shortfall, curb a consumer inflation rate of more than 7
percent and revive investment. The economy expanded 4.7 percent in the year ended March, a pace
close to a decade low.
Implementation Risk
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party has promised reliable electricity for all households by 2022, 100 new socalled “smart cities” and bullet trains, among other pledges. The budget allocated an initial 70.6 billion
rupees for the cities project.
The proposed cargo route on the Ganges will snake from the eastern coast at Haldia in West Bengal
inland to Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, and take six years to complete, the
finance minister said.
NTPC Ltd., the nation’s biggest power producer, is already transporting about 3 million tons of coal over
the Ganges, from Haldia to its plant in Farakka in West Bengal, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said
earlier this month.
Jaitley also set out a goal of adding 15,000 kilometers of pipelines using public-private partnerships to
complete the gas grid, doubling the current length. There were about three dozen mentions of
“infrastructure” in his speech.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-07-14/modi-s-25-billion-backs-vow-to-unclog-nationcorporate-india
Infrastructure at centre of India’s budget
The Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is pledging US$25 billion to unclog India’s choked transport
links, spur power output and build cities. His plans include ferrying cargo on the Ganges and expanding
gas pipelines.
The 42 billion-rupee (Dh2.56bn), 1,620-kilometre freight route on India’s best-known river was among
the most eye-catching projects in Mr Modi’s first budget, released on Thursday. Others included 523bn
rupees for roads and 500bn rupees for urban infrastructure funding, part of 1.48 trillion rupees for
everything from highways and ports to housing.
“The measures to boost infrastructure investment amount to a significant down payment on a key policy
priority, although they still amount to only a modest step towards meeting India’s enormous needs,” said
Eswar Prasad, who teaches economics at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Mr Modi’s task is to
channel private domestic and foreign investment into such assets, he said.
The budget cleared the way for dedicated investment trusts and eased infrastructure lending rules
toward that goal, steps that Fitch Ratings said may spur long-term capital investment. Mr Modi must now
ensure implementation of his agenda following a landslide election victory in May, after gridlock under
the previous government stalled about $255bn of projects.
The more he succeeds, the better the outlook for companies that build and power India, whose
infrastructure ranked below that of China and Indonesia in a World Economic Forum survey.
Specific beneficiaries may include the engineering company Larsen & Toubro, the roads specialist IRB
Infrastructure Developers, Tata Power, Cummins India and Container Corp of India, Citigroup said in a
note on Friday.
The finance minister Arun Jaitley said in the budget speech for the 12 months started April 1 that the
government would minimise the amount of reserves that must be set aside for funds earmarked for
infrastructure lending.
That step was “significant” and the budget “categorically prioritised infrastructure development”, said R
Shankar Raman, the chief financial officer at Larsen & Toubro in Mumbai. It will help to cut financing
costs too, according to SMC Global Securities.
The lending measure could also bolster earnings at IDFC, India’s biggest lender to road projects, by as
much as 20 per cent, according to Credit Suisse Group.
Mr Jaitley boosted plan spending — or expenditure on productive assets — by almost 200bn rupees, to
5.75tn rupees, compared with the previous government’s interim budget in February. He also plans to
ease foreign-direct investment caps in defence and insurance to woo inflows.
Optimism that Mr Modi can revitalise Asia’s No 3 economy has fuelled a 19 per cent surge in the
benchmark S&P BSE Sensex Index this year, more than the rise of about 4 per cent in the MSCI AsiaPacific Index. The rupee has strengthened 2.6 per cent against the dollar in the same period.
Analysts at banks including Deutsche Bank and Nomura Holdings saw the budget as a missed chance to
take tough measures on subsidies. Mr Jaitley estimated higher tax revenues and asset sales will help to
pare the fiscal deficit to a seven-year low of 4.1 per cent of GDP.
Mr Modi’s government is trying to control the fiscal shortfall, curb a consumer inflation rate of more than
7 per cent and revive investment. The economy expanded 4.7 per cent in the year ended March, a pace
close to a decade low.
The proposed cargo route on the Ganges will snake from the eastern coast at Haldia in West Bengal
inland to Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, and take six years to complete, the
finance minister said.
Mr Jaitley also said the government wants to add 15,000km of pipelines using public-private partnerships
to complete the gas grid, doubling the current length.
A key challenge is to ensure such initiatives are implemented as bureaucrats unnerved by past graft
scandals involving government contracts delay approvals. A slow land-buying process, environmental
objections and elevated interest rates are among the other impediments.
“There’s a lot of investments in the pipeline which need to be moved from the project stage to operating
stage,” said Rajiv Agarwal, the managing director of Essar Ports.
The budget signals a desire to create a platform to get back to GDP growth rates of more than 7 per cent,
according to Arvind Mahajan, a partner at consultancy KPMG in India.
“Unclogging the infrastructure sector is very critical for that,” he said. “The intent of the government is
two-pronged: unravel the past and make fresh investments. This will improve sentiment and get the
investment cycle back on track.”
http://www.thenational.ae/business/economy/infrastructure-at-centre-of-indias-budget
Cleaning the Ganga
The government should have used the term “rejuvenation” to mean desilting the river bed, ensuring a
sustainable water flow, safeguarding its floodplains and expanding the use of available water (“For
rejuvenating, not re-engineering, the Ganga,” July 16). It should also mean encompassing proper soil
conservation measures in the catchment areas, which is hardly ever thought of. While commenting on
water resources development programmes, we should also consider the growing population, lifestyle
changes, huge regional variations in water availability and demand, etc. When the population size has
increased by leaps and bounds, humans are forced to usurp the places of other living things. In such a
contingency, where is the question of ecological balance and environmental stability?
R. Venkatasamy, Madurai
The consultation does not seem to have included experts from diverse fields such as biologists, fishery
scientists and oceanographers. If we are sincere and keen on cleaning the Ganga and other rivers, a
comprehensive plan must be drawn up involving countries, institutions and departments. Tourism,
shipping and the construction of dams and barrages do not fit into the scheme of things. India must also
look at the examples of the Rhine and the Thames.
P.S.B.R. James, Bangalore
All cities along the Ganga must be connected to a series of effluent treatment plants. New ones need to
be built with new technology. All other moves to clean the river will come to naught unless pollution is
tackled.
Joseph Anandaraj M., Chennai
Those who are involved in the Ganga rejuvenation plan must read history before attempting to start
work. Industrial contamination of water is a factor of concern, but it must not be singled out as the cause
here. There is historical evidence that even before these industries began, the Ganga was heavily
polluted. Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, a French jewel merchant who travelled extensively in India between
1636 and 1662, overlapping the reigns of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, was a prolific writer. Several
volumes of his travelogue (Travels in India, translated by Dr. Valentine Ball, ISBN 81-7536-206-5, pp.9596, Low Price Publications, 2007) published from 1675 to 1684 record his observations about Varanasi.
Tavernier says that “Claude Maille, who practised both surgery and medicine, advised us not to drink any
of the Ganges water, which would produce disturbance of the stomach, but to drink rather the water
from wells.” If this was the condition of the river in the 17th century, the problem lies deeper than mere
contemporary industrial contamination.
K. Sajith Kumar, Mekkad, Kerala
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/letters/cleaning-the-ganga/article6218332.ece
Ganga action plan may be extended to other rivers: Govt
New Delhi: The government today said that based on the outcome of the action plan on Ganga, it may
extend it to other major rivers of the country.
Water Recources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Uma Bharti said that the
government is giving special attention to rejuvenation of Ganga and consultations with various
stakeholders including different ministries, academics, NGOS and technical experts are in progress.
"Crystallization of action plan, including framing of its salient features, time line and likely expenditure
would be known only after the finalisation of the action plan for cleaning of River Ganga.
"Based on the results of the action plan for Ganga, the government may extend the action plan in a
phased manner for other major rivers of the country," Bharti said in a written reply in Lok Sabha .
The minister said that her ministry is holding consultations other ministries such as Environment, Water
Recources, Urban Development, Tourism, Shipping, Drinking Water and Sanitation, Rural Development
apart from deliberating with academics, technical experts and NGOs.
She said that central assistance is being provided by her ministry to states under two schemes - Repair,
Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies and Flood Management Programme (FMP) during
12th Plan.
"Under the RRR scheme, a total of 3341 water bodies were taken up for restoration in 12 states, out of
which 2033 water bodies have been completed till date. Under the FMP, a total of 420 workers were
approved during XI Plan out of which 252 works were completed. During XII Plan, a total of 97 new
workers have been approved under FMP," she said.
She said that while Rs 37.97 crore has been released to states under RRR in 2013-14, Rs 379 crore has
been released under FMP in the same year period.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/eco-news/ganga-action-plan-may-be-extended-to-other-riversgovt_948145.html
Sikkim CM Calls on Union Minister Uma Bharti
New Delhi: Chief Minister of Sikkim Pawan Kumar Chamling called on Union Minister for Water
Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Sushri Uma Bharti here today.
Shri Charmling extended his government’s full support to the Ganga Rejuvenation Plan of the Centre.
Welcoming the various steps taken by the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation in this regard, Shri Charmling suggested that cutting of trees along the banks of Ganga
should be prohibited. Welcoming his support and suggestions, the Union Minister Sushri Bharti thanked
Shri Chamling.
http://www.orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=51820
Can Narendra Modi clean the Ganga?
KANPUR: Standing on the banks of the river Ganga a day after his election triumph, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi vowed to succeed where numerous governments have failed: by cleaning up the holy
river.
From a Prime Minister already known for the scale of his ambitions, it was a bold but calculated promise
to improve the health of what he referred to as his "mother".
Success would pay huge dividends in endearing him further to his core supporters - and correcting the
long-standing neglect of the river would perfectly demonstrate his fabled administrative skills.
But nowhere is the scale of the challenge more evident than in the northern town of Kanpur, around 500
kilometres (300 miles) from the capital, which is known for its large leather-treatment industry.
A river believed to cleanse sins is used here as a giant sewage line for the largely untreated excrement of
five million residents and a disposal facility for millions of litres of chemical-laced industrial waste.
Some devout pilgrims still brave the obvious dangers of submersing themselves in the water, in which
fecal coliform bacteria can be 200 times the safe limit, according to local authorities.
But even they are increasingly put off. Local boatman Vijay Nishad, who has been rowing religious visitors
on the river for more than 15 years, says his business is suffering.
"Around 100 or 200 people came to bathe this morning but they left without going in the water because
of the dead fish and the terrible stench," he said. as he oared his boat.
Nishad put his hand into the soil-coloured waters and plucked out a few small fish floating lifelessly just
below the surface.
The Ganga snakes for 2,500 kilometres across northern India from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal
through a basin that is home to an estimated third of India's population - 400 million people.
Kanpur is one of the four most critically polluted spots which also include the holy city of Varanasi from
where 63-year-old Modi was elected to parliament for the first time in May.
Rakesh K. Jaiswal, founder of Kanpur-based campaign group Eco-Friends, said the city produced 500
million litres of sewage a day, and had a capacity to treat only around 160 million litres.
A recent note from the environment ministry, estimated that the capacity of sewage treatment plants in
the 50 biggest towns along the river was only 1.2 billion litres daily. Total human waste totalled 2.7 billion
litres.
Jaiswal wishes Modi and his newly named Minister for Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma
Bharti well, but he is sceptical that significant changes can be made in their five-year term.
India's first highly publicised effort to clean its most sacred river was in 1986, when the Ganga Action Plan
was launched.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/can-narendra-modi-clean-theganga/articleshow/38525392.cms
48 industrial units polluting Ganga asked to close down
NEW DELHI: Directions have been issued to about 48 industrial units polluting River Ganga to close down,
the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday.
The Ministry of Environment & Forests has identified 764 grossly polluting industries discharging 501
million litres per day of waste water into Ganga and its major tributaries, Minister of State for Water
Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation Santosh Kumar Gangwar said in his written reply.
"704 industries have been inspected under National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) programme by
NGRBA Cell, CPCB till May, 2014. Directions have been issued to 165 industries, of which 48 are closure
directions under Section-5 of E(P) Act, 1986," he said.
The State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) are required to implement effluent discharge standards by the
industries.
Gangwar said action has to be taken against defaulting industries by SPCBs under powers delegated to
them by the Central Government under relevant provisions of Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution)
Act, 1974 and Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
To another question on jurisdiction of NGRBA, he said, the Ministry of Environment and Forests has
informed that on the recommendations of NGRBA, three power projects - Loharinag Pala, Pala Maneri
and Bhaironghati hydro power projects were halted in 2010.
"Further, stage 1B project was also halted in 2010, after National Environment Appellate Authority
quashed environmental clearance for the project. In the last three years, no hydro power project has
been halted by the Government," Gangwar said.
Replying to a related question, the Minister said,"A comprehensive River Basin Management Plan for
Ganga is being prepared by a consortium of seven IITs (Kanpur, Delhi, Madras, Bombay, Kharagpur,
Guwahati and Roorkee).
"The objective of the plan is to suggest comprehensive measures for restoration of wholesomeness of
Ganga system and improvement of its ecological health, with due regard to the issue of competing water
uses in the river basin."
"The plan would take into consideration requirements of water and energy in the Ganga Basin, while
ensuring that fundamental aspects of the river system are protected. The IIT consortium is proposing to
submit its report by the end of August," he said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/pollution/48-industrial-units-polluting-Gangaasked-to-close-down/articleshow/38376520.cms
Ganga clean-up project can emulate Thames model, says expert
Even as Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced an ambitious Rs. 2037-crore ‘Namami Ganga’
project in his maiden budget to kick-start the process of cleaning up the holy river, a noted water expert
has said the model adopted to rejuvenate the Thames in London could be “ideal” for freeing the Ganga
from pollution.
In the mid-19 century, the Thames river or the ‘Great Stink’, as it was then called, was so bad that even
sittings in the House of Commons had to be put off. But in subsequent years, as part of an ‘ongoing
restoration plan’, a systematic application of scientific methods of wastewater treatment helped to turn
around the “once dead Thames”. The river has now been “fully rejuvenated,” says P.M. Natarajan, a
member of the working group of the State Planning Commission.
Sharing his thoughts on this issue with The Hindu, in the backdrop of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi
having announced a new Ganga river restoration plan, Mr. Natarajan pointed out that the best way to do
it could be the four-fold strategy adopted for the Thames.
The steps for wastewater treatment are adoption of source control and sustainable urban drainage;
separation of foul and surface drainage and local storage; screening or treatment at the point of
discharge to the river; and in-river treatment. Among the potential strategies, “the screening or
treatment at the point of discharge would fully meet the objectives,” Mr. Natarajan claimed.
Mr. Natarajan said the Ganga basin constitutes 26 per cent of India’s land mass. Major cities in the basin
— including Delhi, Agra, Meerut, Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Allahabad, Patna and Calcutta — generate
and discharge huge quantities of wastewater into the river. There are 29 cities with a population of above
one lakh in the basin, 23 smaller cities with a population between 50,000 and one lakh, and 48 towns
with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants each.
Citing data from the Central Pollution Control Board, he said a large number of industries (over 250 units)
situated in this zone, from Uttar Pradesh to West Bengal, discharged “toxic substances” into effluent
flows “with BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) concentrations of more than 100 mg per litre. Each unit
generated “over one million litres of wastewater a day.”
The first and second phases of the Ganga Action Plan, launched during the mid-1980s, did not serve the
purpose, Dr. Natarajan said. Not only was the programme delayed by problems in land acquisition and
litigation, the “infrastructure installed failed to close the gap on the sewage generated in the Ganga
basin,” he noted. More importantly, the treatment plants, already beset with erratic power supply,
suffered from “erroneous positioning, mostly on the peripheries,” he said. The total expenditure incurred
so far by the Centre has been about Rs.950 crore.
Given the current “total pollution load” of the Ganga basin at 50,500 million litres per day (MLD), it would
be ideal to have treatment plants of 20 MLD capacity each, and “villages have to be connected so as to
reach the capacity of each treatment plant,” Dr. Natarajan said. Specific treatment facilities for each type
of industrial effluent were also needed.
While numerous technologies were used to recycle wastewater, he said, it was not advisable to “start
treating the wastewater and leave it halfway” as it was done in the first two Ganga action plans in the
past 30 years. The biogas extracted from the processing of wastewater could be used for cooking and
generating some electricity. The ‘bio sludge’ was another important by-product that could be used as
manure, he said, advocating a multi-pronged approach. “Ganga, the holy river, can thus be made
permanently holy without foul smell,” he added.
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/ganga-cleanup-project-can-emulatethames-model-says-expert/article6208492.ece
For rejuvenating, not re-engineering, the Ganga
The forces of free market capitalism and demand for energy will trump all environmental concerns about
the Ganga
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared his objective to rejuvenate the Ganga, anxiety over the
state of the river gave way to a sense of relief; there was finally hope for a river in its death throes. Also,
the Minister of Water Resources was a known champion of the Ganga. However, satisfaction quickly
changed to dismay because of a number of disturbing indicators.
Contradictions
First, the new name for the Ministry of Water Resources is Ministry of Water Resources, River
Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. What does ‘river development’ mean? We get a clue from the
phrase used commonly in the Water Establishment, namely ‘water resource development.’ In the
language of the water engineer, this means harnessing more water for use through dams, barrages,
reservoirs, canals, etc. A part of that meaning gets carried over into the term ‘river development’ —
where development means development for human use. There is also the allied term ‘river training’
which seems to suggest that a river is a household pet or circus animal waiting to be trained by its human
masters. The addition of the term ‘River Development’ to the name of the Ministry is thus an indication
of the intention to build more projects on rivers. How does that fit in with the term ‘rejuvenation’?
A second disturbing indicator is the reference by some to the Sabarmati model. Sabarmati was not
rejuvenated; a 10.4 kilometre stretch of the river was used as a receptacle for water from the Narmada,
i.e., water from another river was used to create an artificial river front for Ahmedabad. From which river
will water be brought to the Ganga, and for what length of the Ganga? Is the intention merely to create
an artificial water front for Varanasi? I am sure this is not the idea. Reference to the Sabarmati model is
therefore misleading.
Third, there is talk of reviving the project announced in 2002 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee — the Inter-Linking
of Rivers Project. Among the links forming part of that project is one from the Ganga to the Subarnarekha
and the Mahanadi and then further southwards. How is a diversion of waters from the Ganga
reconcilable with the idea of rejuvenation of the river?
Fourth, the ‘Save the Ganga’ movement has formulated the slogan of ensuring a nirmal (pollution-free)
and aviral (uninterrupted) flow of the river. This phraseology has also been adopted by the IIT
Consortium and the National Ganga River Basin Authority. However, a Cabinet Minister in the Modi
government has declared the intention of building a series of structures on the river at intervals of 100
km. What will this do to the Ganga? What implications will this have for a nirmal-aviral flow?
Fifth, the same Minister has also talked about dredging and widening the Ganga for ensuring continuous
navigability. First, human intervention harms the river and then a limited remedy is attempted through
dredging. This would be for restoring part of the live storage (or pondage) lost because of the rise in the
level of dead storage, and not for navigation, as the dam will obstruct navigation anyway, unless an
elaborate system of locks is built. In a free-flowing stretch, where sediment build-up has not occurred,
what would be the justification for dredging for navigation? In what way is dredging in a near-pristine
stretch different from sand mining? As for widening the channel, it would be welcome if it meant that
part of the floodplain gets protected. But dredging and widening in a near-pristine stretch is nothing but
a re-engineering of the river. Does this constitute rejuvenation?
Finally, let us consider the recent meeting on Ganga Manthan. The term is evidently based on the
mythological ‘samudra manthan’. What ‘churning’ of the Ganga is intended and what amrit or visha is
expected to come out? What is meant is evidently a churning of issues relating to the Ganga. It seems an
ill-advised analogy.
The impact of projects
This is not to accuse the government of double-speak. The government is indeed wholly committed to
the task of restoring the lost glory of the Ganga, but there are too many contradictory signals from
government sources. The Prime Minister needs to intervene and ensure that the objective of reviving the
dying river is not compromised by various sectoral plans, programmes and projects.
Above all, the concern that lay behind the study of the impacts of multiple projects on the Ganga must
not be forgotten. We have already done enormous harm to the river by constructing dams and barrages.
It is high time we declared a moratorium on the building of any more projects until their impacts have
been properly studied. The Ganga simply cannot take any more interventions, and some of the existing
interventions may need to be undone.
In particular, while the impacts of some dams can be mitigated or offset, run-of-the-river (RoR)
hydroelectric projects, misleadingly described as environmentally benign, are far more harmful because
of two specific features. First, there are a series of breaks in the river between the point of diversion to
the turbines and the point of return of the waters to the river. Does the river then still remain a river?
Second, these projects operate as peaking projects, i.e., the turbines operate in accordance with the
market demand for electricity, which means that the waters are held back in pondage and released when
the turbines need to operate, resulting in huge diurnal variations in downstream flows. The idea of
‘environmental flows’ is incompatible with the logic of RoR hydroelectric projects.
The forces of free market capitalism and the insatiable ‘developmental’ demand for energy will trump all
environmental concerns as well as anxieties about the Ganga. Perhaps the death of our rivers is a price
that needs to be paid for what goes by the name of ‘development.’ One can only request the government
to be aware of what it is doing.
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/for-rejuvenating-not-reengineeringtheganga/article6214337.ece
Repair embankments of Ganga: Minister to Centre
Urging the Centre to ensure repair of embankments of the Ganga in Malda and Murshidabad districts,
where erosion leaves thousands homeless every year, Irrigation Minister Rajib Banerjee said that the
Union government should restore the 75: 25 (Centre:State) funding of major flood management projects
of the State.
Speaking to The Hindu on Sunday, Mr. Banerjee, who met Union Minister for Water Resources Uma
Bharati earlier this week, said the previous United Progressive Alliance government had changed the
funding of flood management programmes (FMP) from 75 per cent (Centre) : 25 per cent (State) to 50
(Centre) : 50 (State). “We urged the Union Minister to restore the 75: 25 ratio considering that West
Bengal is a debt-stressed State,” the Minister said.
On the Ganga erosion, Mr. Banerjee said of the 130-km stretch, 27 km is in a very serious condition,
threatening the people who are living on the banks, adding that Farraka Barrage Authority is scheduled to
repair these embankments.
Pointing out that West Bengal is a low-lying area and rain in adjoining States causes flooding here, the
Minister said work on ambitious projects like Ghatal Masterplan ( a Rs. 1,573-crore project targeted to
prevent flooding in Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur districts) cannot be taken up because of the
ambiguity over the State and Centre share.
Mr. Banerjee said another issue involving flooding in the Jayanti river of north Bengal was also taken up
with the Union Minister.
“The flooding is because of dolomite extraction in another river in Bhutan,” he said adding that the issue
needs to be taken up by the Ministry of External Affairs.
The State government has also urged that it be made a permanent member in Bramhaputra Board where
the north-eastern States are a member.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/repair-embankments-of-ganga-minister-tocentre/article6208809.ece
Modi’s Ganges clean-up bid poses challenges
Standing on the banks of the river Ganges a day after his election triumph, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
vowed to succeed where numerous governments have failed: by cleaning up the filthy waterway beloved
of India's Hindus.
From a prime minister already known for the scale of his ambitions, it was a bold but calculated promise
to improve the health of what the deeply religious leader referred to as his "mother".
Success would pay huge dividends in endearing him further to his core Hindu supporters - and correcting
the long-standing neglect of the river would perfectly demonstrate his fabled administrative skills.
But nowhere is the scale of the challenge more evident than in the northern town of Kanpur, around 500
kilometres from the capital, which is known for its large leather-treatment industry.
A river believed to cleanse sins is used here as a giant sewage line for the largely untreated excrement of
five million residents and a disposal facility for millions of litres of chemical-laced industrial waste.
Some devout pilgrims still brave the obvious dangers of submersing themselves in the water, in which
faecal coliform bacteria can be 200 times the safe limit, according to local authorities.
But even they are increasingly put off. Local boatman Vijay Nishad, who has been rowing religious visitors
on the river for more than 15 years, says his business is suffering.
"Around 100 or 200 people came to bathe this morning but they left without going in the water because
of the dead fish and the terrible stench," he told AFP as he oared his boat.
Nishad put his hand into the soil-coloured waters and plucked out a few small fish floating lifelessly just
below the surface.
The Ganges snakes for 2,500 kilometres across northern India from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal
through a basin that is home to an estimated third of India's population - 400mn people.
Kanpur is one of the four most critically polluted spots which also include the holy city of Varanasi from
where 63-year-old Modi was elected to parliament for the first time in May.
Rakesh K. Jaiswal, founder of Kanpur-based campaign group Eco-Friends, told AFP the city produced
500mn litres of sewage a day, and had a capacity to treat only around 160mn litres.
A recent note from the environment ministry estimated that the capacity of sewage treatment plants in
the 50 biggest towns along the river was only 1.2bn litres daily. Total human waste totalled 2.7bn litres.
Jaiswal wishes Modi and his newly named Minister for Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma
Bharti well, but he is sceptical that significant changes can be made in their five-year term.
India's first highly publicised effort to clean its most sacred river was in 1986, when the Ganga Action Plan
was launched.
Environmental activists estimate billions of rupees have been poured into clean-up efforts over the last
three decades with few, if any, results.
Modi's government announced another 20.4bn rupees ($340mn) for a new "Ganga Mission" in its first
budget last Thursday.
"It is the first time I have seen one issue uniting people from across the board. Everybody is united and
working with unseen enthusiasm for this campaign," Bharti told a conference on the river on July 7.
While the lack of sewage facilities in Kanpur is an administrative failure common to most towns along the
river, the industrial waste problem is particularly acute here.
That the leather industry is owned and run by Muslims and those clamouring for a clean-up are Hindu
nationalists gives the new government's operation an important religious hue.
Jaiswal from Eco-Friends estimates 400 regulated and unregulated tanneries produce 50mn litres of
waste per day, but only 9mn litres are treated.
For homemaker Malti Devi, Modi's operation is welcome, but like others, she has heard ambitious plans
from politicians before.
"I doubt if anything will happen," she said.
http://www.gulf-times.com/india/185/details/400765/modi%E2%80%99s-ganges-clean-up-bid-poseschallenges
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/China-hydel-projects-not-to-affect-NE-waterflow/articleshow/38597165.cms
Rising Ganga threatens Budaun rape victims' graves
Rise in the water level of the Ganga at Budaun posed a serious threat to the graves of the two cousin
sisters who were gang-raped and murdered in the district last month.
It could also nip in the bud the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) reported plan to exhume the bodies
for a second autopsy.
According to the reports, around ten thousand cusecs of water had been released into the Ganges from
Narora Barrage, which was not very far from Budaon.
“The water released is likely to reach Budaon in a day or two,” said an official of the state irrigation
department.
Sources said that the graves of teenagers were barely six metres away from the Ganga at the moment
and in such a situation any rise in the water level could foil CBI’s plan to exhume the bodies.
“The river may start overflowing the graves in the next two days if the water level continues to rise,” the
officials said.
The district administration alerted the irrigation department soon after reports that the investigating
agency was planning to exhume the bodies for a second autopsy.
The irrigation department has conveyed to the district authorities that the exhumation could become
impossible if the water levels rose further.
Sources said that the decision to exhume the bodies for another autopsy might have been prompted by
conflicting reports after the first postmortem.
The police in Budaun had claimed teenagers had been raped and the same was confirmed in the
postmortem but the state police chief K L Banerjee said that rape was confirmed on only one of the
sisters.
He had also apprehended that it could also be a case of honour killing.
The CBI has already quizzed the families of the two victims as well as the kin of those accused.
The agency had run a polygraph test on the five accused and in addition to the family members of the
victims.
The two teens, aged 14 and 15, had gone out to answer the call of nature last month, when they went
missing.
Their bodies were found hanging from a tree in a mango orchard outside the village the next morning.
The UP government had recommended CBI probe into the matter after which the investigating agency
took over the case on June 12.
The police have arrested six accused, including two cops and three brothers.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/420374/rising-ganga-threatens-budaun-rape.html
Ganga action plan may be extended to other rivers: Government
New Delhi: The government today said that based on the outcome of the action plan on Ganga, it may
extend it to other major rivers of the country. Water Recources, River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation Minister Uma Bharti said that the government is giving special attention to rejuvenation of
Ganga and consultations with various stakeholders including different ministries, academics, NGOS and
technical experts are in progress.
“Crystallization of action plan, including framing of its salient features, time line and likely expenditure
would be known only after the finalisation of the action plan for cleaning of River Ganga.
“Based on the results of the action plan for Ganga, the government may extend the action plan in a
phased manner for other major rivers of the country,” Bharti said in a written reply in Lok Sabha .
The minister said that her ministry is holding consultations other ministries such as Environment, Water
Recources, Urban Development, Tourism, Shipping, Drinking Water and Sanitation, Rural Development
apart from deliberating with academics, technical experts and NGOs.
She said that central assistance is being provided by her ministry to states under two schemes - Repair,
Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies and Flood Management Programme (FMP) during
12th Plan.
“Under the RRR scheme, a total of 3341 water bodies were taken up for restoration in 12 states, out of
which 2033 water bodies have been completed till date.
Under the FMP, a total of 420 workers were approved during XI Plan out of which 252 works were
completed. During XII Plan, a total of 97 new workers have been approved under FMP,” she said.
She said that while Rs 37.97 crore has been released to states under RRR in 2013-14, Rs 379 crore has
been released under FMP in the same year period.
http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/ganga-action-plan-extended-other-rivers-government-umabharti-39283.html
http://news.oneindia.in/india/ganga-action-plan-may-be-extended-to-other-rivers-uma-bharti1484741.html
The Ganges, India’s biggest sewage line
A woman puts mud on her face as she bathes in the river Ganges on a hot summer afternoon in
Allahabad.
Kanpur, India - Standing on the banks of the river Ganges a day after his election triumph, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi vowed to succeed where numerous governments have failed: by cleaning up the filthy
waterway beloved of India's Hindus.
From a prime minister already known for the scale of his ambitions, it was a bold but calculated promise
to improve the health of what the deeply religious leader referred to as his “mother”.
Success would pay huge dividends in endearing him further to his core Hindu supporters - and correcting
the long-standing neglect of the river would perfectly demonstrate his fabled administrative skills.
But nowhere is the scale of the challenge more evident than in the northern town of Kanpur, around 500
kilometres from the capital, which is known for its large leather-treatment industry.
A river believed to cleanse sins is used here as a giant sewage line for the largely untreated excrement of
five million residents and a disposal facility for millions of litres of chemical-laced industrial waste.
Some devout pilgrims still brave the obvious dangers of submersing themselves in the water, in which
fecal coliform bacteria can be 200 times the safe limit, according to local authorities.
Hindu devotees perform morning rituals along the banks of the Ganges River on the last day of the nineday Hindu festival of Navratri.
But even they are increasingly put off. Local boatman Vijay Nishad, who has been rowing religious visitors
on the river for more than 15 years, says his business is suffering.
“Around 100 or 200 people came to bathe this morning but they left without going in the water because
of the dead fish and the terrible stench,” he told AFP as he oared his boat.
Nishad put his hand into the soil-coloured waters and plucked out a few small fish floating lifelessly just
below the surface.
The Ganges snakes for 2 500 kilometres across northern India from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal
through a basin that is home to an estimated third of India's population - 400 million people.
Kanpur is one of the four most critically polluted spots which also include the holy city of Varanasi from
where 63-year-old Modi was elected to parliament for the first time in May.
Rakesh K. Jaiswal, founder of Kanpur-based campaign group Eco-Friends, told AFP the city produced 500
million litres of sewage a day, and had a capacity to treat only around 160 million litres.
A recent note from the environment ministry, seen by AFP, estimated that the capacity of sewage
treatment plants in the 50 biggest towns along the river was only 1.2 billion litres daily. Total human
waste totalled 2.7 billion litres.
Jaiswal wishes Modi and his newly named Minister for Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma
Bharti well, but he is sceptical that significant changes can be made in their five-year term.
India's first highly publicised effort to clean its most sacred river was in 1986, when the Ganga Action Plan
was launched.
Environmental activists estimate billions of rupees have been poured into clean up efforts over the last
three decades with few, if any, results.
Modi's government announced another 20.4-billion rupees ($340-million) for a new “Ganga Mission” in
its first budget.
“It is the first time I have seen one issue uniting people from across the board. Everybody is united and
working with unseen enthusiasm for this campaign,” minister Bharti told a conference on the river.
While the lack of sewage facilities in Kanpur is an administrative failure common to most towns along the
river, the industrial waste problem is particularly acute here.
Kanpur has been a centre of the leather trade since the early 1900s when it evolved as a major domestic
handloom and leather hub under British colonial rule.
A sometimes overpowering stench of rotting flesh fills the air in the city's tannery-dominated Jajmau
area.
Workers, mostly poor-illiterate daily wagers, work barefoot without any protective gear as they remove
the skins and send them off for chemical bleaching, colouring and drying.
Drains from these river-side facilities discharge toxic, deep black, blue or at times yellow coloured waste
water directly into the river.
That the leather industry is owned and run by Muslims and those clamouring for a clean up are Hindu
nationalists gives the new government's operation an important religious hue.
Jaiswal from Eco-Friends estimates 400 regulated and unregulated tanneries produce 50 million litres of
waste per day, but only nine million litres are treated.
The heavy metals and other pollutants kill river life and enter the food chain through use of the same
water for irrigation and the local fish consumed by local villagers.
“Modi government's intent is definitely a good sign,” Neeraj Srivastava, a coordinator of the Kanpur
administration's efforts to clean and develop its river stretch, told AFP.
“A lot has been tried since 1986 but I think we've lacked a technical focus and coordinated effort. We
have to do it now,” he said.
In the typically poor village of Jaana on the outskirts of Kanpur, the public health effects of 30 years of
inaction can be seen.
Malti Devi, a 33-year-old homemaker and mother of three, said she developed severe rashes soon after
she moved there after her marriage.
“It became severe and then I got these permanent rashes all over my body,” Malti said, as she revealed
red sores on her arms, stomach, upper back and neck.
A group of half a dozen villagers gathered outside Malti's small, brick house when AFP visited, eager to
describe their own problems which they linked to the water.
“Those who can, have already left the village,” 40-year-old Ramesh Chandra Nishad said.
Senior medical authorities in the area backed their claims, blaming the rashes and other ailments on
contact with the water.
For Devi, Modi's operation is welcome, but like others, she has heard ambitious plans from politicians
before.
“I doubt if anything will happen,” she said. - Sapa-AFP
http://www.iol.co.za/travel/world/asia/the-ganges-india-s-biggest-sewage-line1.1722092#.U8yN1vmSwuc
Star mountaineer in global team to save Ganga
Water conservation scheme named after Gopinath MundeBMC to use social media to spread its water
conservation messageMountaineer Chhanda Gayen, 2 others untracedGanga Marathon begins
todayYouth drowns in Ganga
MUMBAI: The Centre's mission to restore the Ganga to health has turned this river into the fountainhead
of another ambitious plan. An international organization has invited women mountaineers from six
continents to launch a water conservation initiative along the Ganga. India's leading female mountaineer,
Krushnaa Patil from Pune, has been drafted as well.
In 2009, Patil was 19 when she became the youngest Indian woman to climb Mt Everest. Now 24, she will
join seven mountaineers on an expedition along the Ganga beginning October. They will cover its 1,500mile footprint over a period of 60 days. Patil's teammates on this expedition belong to countries as
diverse as Israel, Japan and China. She said, "We will travel for 60 days, beginning at Gomukh, which is
ahead of Gangotri, and finishing in the Bay of Bengal. We plan to go rafting in Rishikesh and Allahabad,
and are trying to explore travel options other than sailboats. We will engage with youth groups, organize
clean-up drives and plant saplings to convey the need to preserve water resources. We are hoping to
influence policy makers." The thought germinated with the need to ensure clean drinking water for all,
but has grown to encompass all aspects of water conservation.
Krushnaa Patil is a professional mountaineer but has also explored other adventure sports like
paragliding, scuba diving, canoeing, rafting and horseriding. "I am excited about this expedition because it
has come at the right time in my career. I have done nearly all there is to do in mountaineering and feel
ready to explore other challenges, particularly if these have a socially oriented goal attached to
them,"she said.
Over the next 12 years, organisers Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen of the Bancroft-Arnesen Foundation
plan to gather teams to cover major rivers across all seven continents. The series named 'Access Water' is
scheduled to end in Antartica.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Mumbai/Star-mountaineer-in-global-team-to-saveGanga/articleshow/38759787.cms
Uttarakhand: Ganga swells, threatens to cross danger mark
With incessant rains lashing the city and hilly areas of the state for the past two days, the Ganga water
level has shot up at an alarming rate, reaching 294 m, precariously close to the danger mark.
The swollen river is now merely a metre away from crossing the danger level, said SDO headworks of the
upper Ganga canal VVS Yadav. This has left the irrigation department at high alert. Floods are anticipated
in Luxor, Jwalapur and Bijnor.
With the district reeling under high alert for the second day, thousands of hectares of agricultural land
remains water-logged in the Luxor area and nearly two dozen villages are at a constant threat from the
interminable monsoon showers.
With the Ganga waters a mere 0.75 m below the danger level, officials from the Uttarakhand and Uttar
Pradesh agricultural department have been constantly monitoring the situation.
Though water has not yet entered the low lying areas in Luxor tehsil, a little more rain can add to the
woes of people living in Balawali, Dumanpuri and Bhagwanpur villages.
While people from the urban areas have been blaming the municipal corporation for the inefficient
draining system in the city and choked drains due to encroachments, the municipal body has blamed it
on the silting of Ganga from unguarded mountains, swelling of seasonal rivers and Ganga waters pushing
back the influx of water from the mountains.
“Water inflow from Shivalik ranges of Rajaji National Park on the boundaries of BHEL has increased with
the incessant rains. The water in-flow from these areas to the city has been unable to be stopped. The
situation has worsened with the water-logging and pushing back the influx of water leading to a floodlike situation. Choking of drains is not the reason as we tried to clear them till late in the night,” reasoned
city mayor Manoj Garg.
Torrential rainfall for nearly 14 hours has left the city flooded and bursting at the seams. Some places
have 4-5 feet deep water-logged in homes. Rivers Rawason, Peeli Nadi, Pathri are completely swollen.
The rains which started late in the evening on Friday has left the city in a deluge owing to unexpected
flow of water from the hill side road, choking of drains and nallahs.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/ganga-swells-threatens-to-cross-danger-mark/article11242427.aspx
Ganga Jagran Yatra reaches Patna
Hundreds of people, including women and children, thronged to get a glimpse of rath. They were queued
up with pamphlets, giving message of making the Ganga pollution-free.
The Ganga Jagran Rath reached Danapur cantonment area at 9.30 am. Later, the rath arrived at Gandhi
Ghat via Patliputra roundabout, Dak Banglow crossing and Ashok Rajpath.
The people performed arti at Gandhi Ghat with a pledge to make the river pollution-free. They presented
cultural programme on the occasion.
It’s worth mentioning that India’s largest read newspaper Dainik Jagran started a historic initiative to
make Ganga pollution-free. The Ganga Jagran Rath began its glorious yatra on June 27 from Uttarakhand.
The yatra will conclude at Ganga Sagar in West Bengal.
During the yatra, thousands of people, including public representatives, have promised to cleanse Ganga.
BJP MP from Patliputra Ram Kripal Yadav promised to raise voice over cleansing Ganga in the Parliament.
Yadav said, “I will suggest the measures to make Ganga pollution-free in the Parliament.”
“I will promote people in my constituency not to pollute Ganga and extend full support in making the
river clean,” added Yadav.
http://post.jagran.com/ganga-jagran-yatra-reaches-patna-bihar-cm-welcomes-rath-1405833912
National meet on Ganga cleaning to be held on Monday
New Delhi: With the aim of cleaning and rejuvenating the Ganga river, the Centre is organising a national
level meet on July 7 where spiritual leaders, policy makers, NGOs and environmentalists will mull over
the matter.
National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), the implementation arm of National Ganga River Basin
Authority (NGRBA) programme of the Environment and Forest Ministry is organising the meet.
"To resolve complex problems associated with River Ganga, effective inter-ministerial, center-state and
inter-state coordination is required," an NMCG release said.
National meet on Ganga cleaning to be held on Monday
The one-day meet named 'Ganga Manthan' will discuss ideas for framing a strategic long term policy for
restoration of the Ganges.
Aimed at bringing all the stakeholders on a single platform, the one-day meet, named 'Ganga Manthan',
will gather people from various walks of life and draw ideas that will give a better insight for framing a
strategic long term policy for restoration of the Ganges.
Representatives of various ministries including those from Water Resources, River Development and
Ganga Rejuvenation, Shipping and Tourism, and other stakeholders would participate in the meet.
The meet would begin with a session where all stakeholders will gather together, followed by four
separate parallel sessions for saints and spiritual leaders, NGOs and environmentalists, academicians and
technocrats, and public representatives and administrators.
Deliberations will take place on themes such as Ganga and 'Sanskriti' (culture), 'Nirmal and Aviral' (pure
and continuous) Ganga, Comprehensive & Sustainable Solutions and 'Jan Sehbhagita' (public
participation).
A combined session, where views and ideas discussed in the parallel sessions would be shared to
facilitate formulation of a long-term strategy, will conclude the meet.
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/national-meet-on-ganga-cleaning-to-be-held-on-monday/484113-3-244.html
http://post.jagran.com/national-meet-on-ganga-cleaning-to-be-held-today-1404720694
Rishikesh on alert as Ganga swells
DEHRADUN: Rains in the hills and plains have led to swelling of the Ganga, putting local authorities in
Rishikesh and Vikasnagar on high alert.
Rishikesh tehsildar DD Verma said, "The level of Ganges is rising due to rains in hills and plains. To deal
with any exigency, we have set up flood control posts at Raiwala, Thano, Ramnagar and Danda."
He said these posts will remain functional throughout the day during the monsoon season and people
can register their complaints about flooding in their localities. "The employees will remain on duty to take
swift action on any given point of time," he added.
Verma said the local authorities are keeping a vigil on sensitive areas in Rishikesh like Shishamjhari,
Trivenighaat and Luxmanjhula which are close to the river banks.
He said people living near river banks are worried owing to the horrifying experience during last year's
disaster, in which homes and crops were damaged.
Dehradun ADM Pratap Shah said the level of Yamuna river is also on a rise in Vikasnagar. "A lot of silt has
deposited in the Dakpathar dam in Vikasnagar, which can lead to soil erosion in the surrounding areas.
Directions have been passed to officers to take action in this regard," Shah said.
He added that the deposition of minerals in the river was also increasing its level. "A report will be sent to
the district magistrate to check if the mineral content is above the permissible limit," he said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Dehradun/Rishikesh-on-alert-as-Gangaswells/articleshow/37914448.cms
India's Unholy Mess
NEW DELHI, Jul 07 (IPS) - One of the first things that Narendra Damodardas Modi did after being anointed
as the Indian prime minister on May 26 was to set up an exclusive ministry (Ganga Rejuvenation) under
Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti to clean up the country’s national river, the Ganges.
However, the Ganges’ largest tributary, the Yamuna – also one of the most polluted in the world
and which provides the capital city of Delhi with 70 percent of its water needs -- was barely mentioned in
Modi’s rhetoric.[pullquote]3[/pullquote]
Critics point out that after a landslide win in the recent Lok Sabha (lower house) elections, Modi’s
right-wing Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party has made numerous references to the Ganges’
pollution (including organising a pan-India meet on the river on Jul. 7 featuring top experts) while totally
ignoring the Yamuna.
Such neglect is hardly new. Despite millions of dollars being pumped into numerous ambitious and statefunded schemes, as well as direct intervention by the Supreme Court and government agencies, the
fabled Yamuna – revered by Hindus as a ‘living Goddess’ -- has been reduced to a stinking drain.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the country’s premier pollution monitoring agency,
Delhi alone contributes up to 80 percent of the pollution load of the 1,370-km river. In 2010, the Indian
Supreme Court even referred to the Yamuna as a “ganda nullah― (“dirty drain―) rather than a
dirty river.
The Yamuna plays a pivotal role in Delhi’s life, providing water for nearly 57 million people who live in
its floodplains. Most importantly, 92 percent of the river’s waters are used to irrigate 12.3 million
hectares of agricultural land that feeds a sizeable portion of India’s 1.2 billion people.
The river’s pristine beauty even prompted the Mughals to build one of their most spectacular
monuments on the Yamuna’s banks -- the Taj Mahal.
Yet today, the river is impacted deeply by pollution as garbage from millions of households, municipal
disposals and soil erosion due to deforestation sullies the river each day. Toxic chemical substances -insecticides, fertilisers, pesticides – only worsen the situation.
A World Health Organisation urban air quality database released on May 9 this year rang alarm bells in
Delhi’s power corridors, forcing the administration to sit up and take note. According to the report,
the air quality in Delhi is the worst in the world, with polluting industries brazenly discharging much of
their refuse into the Yamuna in the absence of strong punitive action.
Following the report, Delhi’s Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung constituted a high-powered
committee – consisting of scientists and ecologists – to examine all aspects of air pollution, including
pollution in the Yamuna caused by industrial and sewage discharges. The committee has been tasked
with suggesting steps to check pollution and to devise both long-term and short-term measures to tackle
this serious issue.
Experts say the extent of pollution of the Yamuna River is so shocking that it now has a permanent thick
layer of foam covering it completely. Yamuna is often also described as a ‘dead river’ since its
pollution has seriously inhibited the survival of fish or other marine life in its waters.
Unfortunately, the State Pollution Control Board as well as the Central Pollution Control Board have also
failed to address Yamuna’s pollution. All the past directives of the apex court have also been
flagrantly ignored.
“The Central Air and Water Pollution Prevention Act gives unrestricted powers to these statutory
bodies to proceed against polluters but entrenched corruption has stymied all attempts to address the
problem. River cleaning is simply not a priority on the national agenda,― says an ecologist with
Kalpavriksh, a pan-India green NGO.
Although a large number of NGOs, pressure groups and citizens’ movements have been active in
cleaning up the Yamuna, given the size and dimension of the problem, these piecemeal and sporadic
efforts have not yielded any tangible benefits, adds the activist.
Environmentalists assert that treatment of effluents before their release into the river is far more vital
than keeping a tab on the river and drains.
"We should learn from how countries abroad are scientifically recycling these wastes and using them for
construction of new buildings and roads. Singapore recycles 98 per cent of its construction and
demolition (C&D) waste. We need to better the existing systems," says Delhi-based environmentalist
Anumita Roy Chowdhury.
Until now, experts say, the Centre has spent approximately 300 million dollars under the Yamuna Action
Plan (YAP) I and II to clean the river. The YAP's first phase was launched in 1993. It then covered Delhi,
eight towns in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and six towns in the state of Haryana.
Under YAP II, the focus was on the Yamuna's 22-km stretch in Delhi. The government plans to spend
another billion dollars in the next phase to clean the river.
Experts add that pesticide traces in the water cannot be removed with conventional treatment as has
been the case so far. “It’s like trying to slay a dragon with a pen knife,― explains B.R. Rao, an
environmental scientist formerly with the ministry of environment and forests.
“For micro pollutants such as pesticides, only more freshwater can reduce the percentage of traces in
water. These cannot be dissolved or assimilated, but they can certainly be diluted to an extent which will
gradually help whittle down the levels of pollution in the river," adds Rao.
The Yamuna has a dilution requirement of 75 percent, explains Rao, which implies that for every 100
litres of wastewater, 75 litres of freshwater needs to be pumped into the river. With this fresh flow of
water, pollutants (especially organic pollutants) dissipate to a large extent.
But at every step, this purified water is abstracted, and ever larger loads of pollution make their way into
the river.
However, according to the Delhi-based think tank Center for Science and Environment, the main problem
lies in the sub-optimal utilisation of the city’s sewage treatment plants (STPs).
Says Sushmita Sengupta of CSE, Delhi’s 17 STPs have a capacity to treat 2,445 MLD (million litres per
day). “Going by the Comptroller Auditor General 2013 Report sewage generation estimate of 3,060
MLD, the city can treat about 80 per cent of its waste, but it actually treats 1,651 MLD, approximately 54
percent Why is Delhi unable to treat its sewage completely?―
Of its installed capacity of 2,445 MLD, about 585 MLD remains unutilised (as of 2011-12). With only 1,218
MLD of sewage being treated, there exists a wide gap between what is treated and what is not. In other
words, about 46 per cent of the total waste generated by Delhi goes untreated into the river Yamuna.
Water experts also point out that the problem of sewage not reaching a treatment plant is also what
scuppers the plans to clean the Yamuna. The city depends on its 6,400-km sewerage network to convey
its waste to treatment facilities. But most of the time, this network does not function, leaving the
treatment plants starved for sewage.
Illegal or unauthorised colonies only worsen the situation. Almost 50 per cent of Delhi lives in such
colonies, generating ‘illegal’ sewage – sewage which is not transported in official sewers to
official treatment plants. These colonies do not have drains to transport sewage.
The people living in these areas either defecate in the open or connect their wastewater drains to an
open channel, which flows into a larger drain and eventually into the river.
“A paradigm shift is required in Delhi’s approach to clean the river. The city planners must swivel
their attention from the standard hardware – sewer and STP – to comprehend the linkages between
water, sewage and pollution and most importantly, the need for authentic data. The science on river
cleaning needs a drastic change in India,― sums up Sengupta.
http://www.iede.co.uk/news/2014_4881/indias-unholy-mess
Ganges makeover set to turn entire river into 'tourist paradise'
The holy river Ganga, whose clean-up is close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's heart, could soon be
promoted as a tourist attraction as part of plans being framed by several ministries for its makeover.
Linking the rejuvenation of the Ganga with tourism, the Tourism Ministry intends to convert the entire
stretch of the river across several states into a tourist destination.
"Tourism spots will be developed all along the banks of the Ganga from Gangotri - its source, to Ganga
Sagar - its confluence with the Bay of Bengal.
Clean-up: The project to clean up the Ganges river has been on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's wishlist
for a long time
Clean-up: The project to clean up the Ganges river has been on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's wishlist
for a long time
"The ministry is exploring the possibilities of introducing shikaras on the Ganga along the pattern of
Kashmir," Tourism and Culture Minister Shripad Yesso Naik said on Monday.
Naik was speaking at 'Ganga Manthan', a national conference on the Ganga in the capital. The day-long
programme, organised by the National Mission for Clean Ganga, was attended by delegates from
different parts of the country and abroad.
In a bid to facilitate the transportation of goods via the Ganga, the Road Transport, Highways and
Shipping Ministry has proposed the dredging of the river to provide a width of 45 meters and draft
(depth) of five meters to enable the navigation of small ships between Varanasi and Hooghly in the first
stage of development.
Centre to keep close watch on foreign tourists
"Barrages are proposed to be constructed at every 100km on the river. We have sent a proposal to the
World Bank for the development of the Allahabad-Haldia corridor," Road Transport, Highways and
Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said.
Pollution being a major problem in the Ganga, the government is mulling a proposal to involve private
partners through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
Since tanneries in Kanpur and other cities dump effluents into the Ganga, the inflow of polluted water
must be stopped to ensure a clean river, Gadkari added.
Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Uma Bharti said she is committed
to the continuous and uninterrupted flow of the Ganga from Gangotri to Ganga.
Describing Modi as the modern day Bhagirath, Bharti said it was only because of him that deliberations
were held and a notification for bringing Ganga under the water resources ministry was issued.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2683829/Ganges-makeover-set-turn-entireriver-tourist-paradise.html
Government would ensure continuous flow of River Ganges: Uma Bharti Jul 8, 12:26 pm
New Delhi, July 8 (ANI): India's minister for water resources and river development, Uma Bharti has said
that earlier there was lack of coordination between departments for carrying out river cleaning project
but now Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government will ensure uninterrupted and clean flow of River
Ganges. Speaking at an event, 'Ganga Manthan' in New Delhi, Bharti said Modi-led government will work
with full sincerity on the outcome of this dialogue. She added there won't be any shortage of funds for
the Ganges cleaning campaign.
http://www.aninews.in/videogallery9/25369-government-would-ensure-continuous-flow-of-riverganges-uma-bharti.html
Houses along Ganga to get toilets by Dec
DEHRADUN: As part of its clean Ganga project, the Centre has directed the Uttarakhand government to
build toilets in 14,050 houses in 202 villages situated along the Ganges in the state. These houses were
identified for not having toilets. Around 35,752 houses situated on the banks and nearby areas along the
Ganges have toilets in the state.
The state government wing which is implementing the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) project, relating to
providing drinking water and sanitation facilities in the rural areas in the state for last two years, has
been entrusted with the task.
According to S Raju, principal secretary, drinking water department, the directive to the effect was sent
two days ago by the Union ministry of drinking water and sanitation to the state government. In the
proposal, under first phase, fresh baseline survey of such houses which do not have toilets would again
be carried out and data would be provided to the Centre by July 15. In the second phase, a mass
awareness campaign would be held at these villages to maintain hygiene and not pollute the Ganga. The
help of NGOs and the villagers would be taken for this purpose. By September 15, half of the total
targeted houses and by December 31, all the houses would be covered under the given action plan.
"The Centre government has approved only Rs 70 crore for this project which is insufficient. We have
demanded considerable raise in the fund," said S Raju.
Saujanya, director of NBA, told TOI, "The Centre has provided Rs 5,300 for each BPL family under the
project. They comprise 45% of the 14,050 houses identified without toilets. But in case of APL families, it
has been directed to only motivate them to build the toilets in their houses on their own, which is quite
tricky. The corporate sector can extend its help under the 'corporate social responsibility commitment'
for release of funds but the state government cannot force anyone for that, so the problem of funds will
be there."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/Houses-along-Ganga-to-get-toilets-byDec/articleshow/38027845.cms
River cleaning unit to come under Uma Bharti ministry
The division overseeing the cleaning of rivers under the ministry of environment and forests will soon be
shifted to the river development and Ganga rejuvenation department, water resources ministry, headed
by Uma Bharti.
This is the first administrative decision by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government after it
projected the cleaning of the Ganges as a priority.
Sources said the move had been initiated with the approval of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and would
give Uma Bharti's ministry powers to oversee not only water quantity-related issues but also "quality"
ones.
The other key department of the environment ministry, the Central Pollution Control Board, will continue
in its current form under the green ministry.
While concerned NDA ministers have deliberated together and separately about cleaning the Ganga, the
discussions have tended to be cosmetic. The moving of the river cleaning department is expected to
provide more technical heft to Bharti's ministry to deal with the issue of sewage treatment to cities in the
Gangetic basin.
Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari, who heads the inter-ministerial
group on the ambitious Ganga plan (Nirmal Ganga, Aviral Ganga), had revealed during Ganga Manthan (a
national dialogue on the river Ganga) that he had approached the prime minister to bring all authorities
under a single umbrella.
"We told them that the various authorities that work on the Ganga should come under Uma Bharti so
that development work is initiated soon. The prime minister was very positive about this," Gadkari had
said.
Bharti had pointed out that during the previous United Progressive Alliance regime, there was a lack of
co-ordination among various ministries involved in the programme of river cleaning. "This led to a delay
in work. But that will not happen under our rule where there is a lot of co-operation, unity and coordination," said Bharti.
The National River Conservation Plan (NRCP), which is to be moved out of the environment ministry,
came into existence in 1985 as a Centre-funded programme. However, since 2001, the cost of projects
under the programme is being shared on a 70:30 basis with the states.
The Ganga Action Plan was expanded to cover other rivers under NRCP in 1995. According to official
estimates, Rs 5,335 crore had been sanctioned till March 2014 for NRCP. A total of Rs 7,860 crore is the
sanctioned cast of the detailed project report of this programme.
In the 2014-15 interim Budget, Rs 486 crore was allocated under NRCP. The NRCP division is also the
implementing agency for the National Ganga River Basin Authority, a body constituted in February 2009
and headed by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for reducing pollution and conserving the
Ganges.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/river-cleaning-unit-to-come-under-umabharti-ministry-114071000107_1.html
India to Spend $2.2 Billion on Water Supplies, Ganges
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new government today pledged 131 billion rupees ($2.2 billion) in
spending on water projects to improve supplies and the condition of the Ganges, India’s largest river.
Asia’s third-biggest economy will develop watersheds, build more pumping stations and start to clean the
Ganga, blighted by raw sewage along much of its 2,525-kilometer (1,570-mile) route, as India endures a
year of “unpredictable” monsoons, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.
The government will use 36 billion rupees to improve drinking supplies for about 20,000 villages and
small towns affected by arsenic and fluoride contamination, Jaitley told Parliament in the minister’s
annual budget speech. About 21.42 billion rupees will be spent on watershed development and 20.37
billion rupees on Ganga upgrades. About 42 billion rupees will go to developing inland waterways in the
plan.
In a time when water demand worldwide is projected to climb by 55 percent from 2000 to 2050, India
will also invest in more solar-water pumps to boost irrigation, Jaitley said. The second-most populous
nation is expecting its lowest monsoon rainfall since 2009 as El Nino emerges. The seasonal showers are
the main source of irrigation for the nation’s 263 million farmers because about 55 percent of crop land is
rain-dependent.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-07-10/india-to-spend-2-dot-2-billion-on-water-suppliesganges
Govt proposes Rs. 4,200 cr for Ganga conservation
The NDA government has announced major plans to clean up and harness the economic potential of the
Ganga, while carrying out studies on linking major rivers to make them navigable.
The budget proposes an Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission called “Namami Gange” with funds
worth Rs. 2,037 crore, besides setting up a Non-Resident Indian Fund for special projects on the river.
A policy to encourage Indian controlled vessels to boost sea-borne trade and employment is on the cards,
besides developing the Ganga as a waterway at a cost of Rs. 4,200 crore to transport cargo.
Arun Jaitley's maiden budget aims for higher economic growth, provides tax breather
A third of India’s 1.2 billion people live on the floodplains along the 2510-km sacred river. Although
floating diyas, diving hermits and burning pyres on Varanasi’s ghats are enduring images of the spiritual
role the Ganges plays, it is dying a slow death due to filth, untreated sewage and industrial runoff, which
have soiled its waters for years. Currently, only about 45% of the 11 billion litres of sewage from 181
towns along the Ganges and its tributaries is treated.
Pollution in the Ganges had become a powerful metaphor in the BJP’s election campaign, when PM
Narendra Modi chose to run from Varanasi. “I feel Mother Ganga has called me to Varanasi,” he had said,
promising to restore its vitality.
“A project on the river Ganga called Jal Marg Vikas (National Waterways-I) will be developed between
Allahabad and Haldia to cover a distance of 1,620km, which will enable commercial navigation of at least
1,500 tonne vessels,” he said. “The project will be completed over a period of six years at an estimated
cost of Rs. 4,200 crore,” the budget said.
The budget also allocated Rs. 100 crore to prepare detailed project reports on linking of rivers. The water
resources ministry had originally a National Perspective Plan for water resources in the 1980s, envisaging
inter-basin transfer of water from surplus basins to deficit ones.
The NDA government is already gearing up to steer an inter-ministerial effort to clean up the Ganges, a
key aspect of which will be to harness economic benefits from tourism and river-transport facilities.
The government is likely to “dovetail” the programme into making India’s five “national waterways”
navigable for movement of people and goods. Although the previous government had signed a Rs.
22,000-crore plan with the World Bank for cleaning up the Ganges, it hasn’t made enough progress.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/specials/coverage/unionbudget2014/budget2014/govt-proposes-overrs-2-000-cr-for-ganga-conservation-mission/sp-article10-1238898.aspx
Haldia port foresees boost in revenues
The Ganga Jal Marg Vikas Yojana is said to be a major revenue booster for Haldia port in West Bengal.
The project entailing an investment of ₹4,200 crore, envisages efficient river freight operations from
Allahabad (UP) to Haldia (WB), covering a distance of 1,620 km.
River transport contributes a mere 7 per cent of total cargo transportation in India. This is substantially
lower than developed countries and even China.
Approximately 40 per cent of 4,500 million tonnes of coal production in China is ferried through rivers. In
contrast, 80 per cent of India’s 600 mt annual coal production is moved by the Railways.
The Ganga Jal Marg Vikas Yojana is expected to boost coal movements through inland water. A step in
this direction has already been taken by NTPC, which is moving imported coal to Farakka Power Station
through the Ganges.
The project will also help efficient movement of over-dimensional cargo (ODC), like large power
equipment, which is difficult to move by road. India, started using this option since 2009 when it moved
huge ODC cargo for the OTPC Power Station in Tripura.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/budget/budget-2014-ganga-vikas-yojana-set-to-boostrevenue-of-haldia-port/article6196827.ece
Why PM Modi's Rs 6,300 cr 'Namami Ganga' budget plan is misguided
Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti recently praised Narendra Modi as the "modern day Bhagirath,"
the legendary king who brought Ganga to the earth. Yesterday, the Prime Minister seemed to live up to
his newly acquired name.
In its maiden budget, the Modi government announced a Rs 6,300-plus crore 'Namami Gange' scheme.
While Rs 2037 crore will go into rejuvenating the river, another Rs 4200 crore will be spent on
developing a navigation corridor in the next six years. Then there is a Rs 100 crore project dedicated to
ghat development and waterfront beautification. The government also announced a 'NRI Ganga fund' to
help drive fund collection, the money from which will be spent on 'special projects'.
This came as no surprise as Maa Ganga played a prominent role in the speeches of the BJP candidate
from Varanasi, a constituency Modi chose for its rich symbolic value. “(The) need of the hour is to restore
the glory of the Ganga. Today Maa Ganga is calling us, her children, to make the river clean once again,"
newly elected prime minister Narendra Modi tweeted on May 17, signalling his priorities which were writ
large in the Union Budget.
But while all those zeroes suggest strength of intent, Modi sarkar's Ganga revival strategy may be weak in
execution.
Can the Modi government revive Ganga and restore its lost glory? AFP imageCan the Modi government
revive Ganga and restore its lost glory? AFP image
The first indication of flaws came at its first meeting held on 7 July with stake holders to discuss the
revival of the river, inviting suggestions from secretaries, NGO activists and civil society at large.
The Ganga Manthan also revealed the Modi sarkar's blueprint for Ganga revival: Develop the river as a
tourism and navigation hub, while stopping the inflow of pollutants into the river.
On the tourism front, the government proposed a massive project along the river, which will reportedly
include river cruising facilities, floating hotels and moving light and sound shows, The Times of India
reports. "Our ministry is exploring the possibility of introducing shikaras on Ganga on the pattern of
Kashmir," Tourism Minister Shripad Naik said at the meeting.
Besides tourism, the government also plans on utilising the river as a means of transport with boats
travelling between Varanasi and Hoogly, something Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had stated as his top
priority when he took over the ministry.
Gadkari also said the government has a proposal to dredge the riverbed in order to provide a width of 45
meters and five meters draft (depth) to enable navigation of small barges between Varanasi and Hoogly.
"Barrages cum bridges are proposed to be constructed at every 100 kms on the river and the ministry has
sent the proposal to World Bank for development of Allahabad-Haldia corridor," Gadkari said.
Problem is, the plans focus on taxing the river further: more development, building more structures,
imposing a greater burden for purposes of transportation and hospitality. The result may well be a
spectacular cosmetic surgery that further erodes the fragile ecosystem of and around the river.
What about dams?
More importantly, there is little evidence that the government is planning to tackle the river’s biggest
menace: dams. Environmentalists have long argued that the only way to restore the Ganga is to restrict
the number of dams along the river. The elevation of Bharti who has in the past vociferously opposed the
construction of dams offered some hope in that direction. But she reversed herself at the Manthan,
saying, "There are many new technologies, which can be used for (constructing) dams. Even the older
dams could be maintained with these technologies.” she said.
Environmental experts strongly disagree. According to a Tehelka report:
"The Ganga is in serious danger from 600 dams that are either operational, under construction or
proposed. These dams will not only obstruct the river’s natural flow and divert water into tunnels to
power turbines, but will also have cascading effect on the livelihood of communities and the biodiversity
and stability of the surrounding natural ecosystems. Downstream communities also face the danger of
flash floods when water is released from the dams."
Highlighting the same concerns, BD Tripathi, an member of National Ganga River Basin Authority said:
"Eight streams of Ganga originate from Gangotri glacier but the main ones are Bhagirathi, Mandakini and
Alaknanda. All the proposed dams near the source should be cancelled. They (government) can construct
small dams," he told news agency PTI.
What about pollution?
Dams aside, any effective Ganga revival plan will have to tackle the other great threat, of toxic sewage,
both industrial as well as domestic.
According to an India Today report, over three billion litres of sewage from over a hundred towns and
cities flows into the river daily.
Varanasi, by itself, generates 400 MLD of sewage. And yet the city has only three sewage treatment
plants which can handle just 102 MLD. That means over 300 MLD of sewage flows into the river
untreated, India Today Magazine reports in its July 2014 edition.
A 2012 study commissioned by the Banaras Hindu University's Centre for Environmental Science and
Technology counted 33,000 cremations over a period of 12 months, using more than 16,000 tonnes of
firewood. The study further states that more than 700 tonnes of ash and partially burnt skeletal material
found its way into the Ganga.
The Modi sarkar has offered few details on how they plan to address these issues, more so since some of
them involve religious sensitivities that may prove politically expensive. Beautifying the ghats does little
to address the burden they place on the river.
Is development the answer?
The Ganga Manthan approach appears flawed because it focuses on new and different uses of the
resources of an already overtaxed river.
The BJP's Varanasi manifesto promised to restore the lost glory of the Ganga on the lines of Gujarat's
Sabarmati river. However, activists have cautioned the government, saying it would be no easy exercise
given that the Sabarmati is 300 km long, while Ganga is more than 2,550 kms long.
In an earlier article on Firstpost, columnist Jay Mazoomdaar argued that if Ganga goes the Sabarmati
way, there will be no hope of its revival.
"But what is wrong with Ahmedabad’s pride, the Sabarmati miracle? In short, everything. The Sabarmati
springs to life in the Aravalli hills near Udaipur and reaches the Arabian Sea in the Gulf of Khambhat. In
1978, a dam built at Dharoi, 165 km upstream of Ahmedabad, locked much of its natural flow. In the next
decade, heavy municipal and industrial pollution downstream made it one of India’s most-threatened
rivers. The famed riverfront project covers a mere 10.5-km segment of this 370-km-long river.
In that short stretch, concrete embankments have constricted the once 330-380 meter-wide river to just
275 meters. This gives an impression of more water flowing in the channel but has made Ahmedabad
vulnerable to floods. The high embankments are touted to be capable of containing a surge of 300,000odd cusecs, the kind that drowned much of the city in 2006. But the river’s historical peak discharge can
be as high as 400,000-550,000 cusecs, a volume the narrowed channels will not hold."
What looks good is not necessarily good for a river. While tourists may be thrilled at the thought of sailing
down a pretty shikara, the Ganga is not just a resort destination but our largest and most important river
which sustains entire eco-systems and vast number of communities across her length.
"Cosmetic surgery is not the solution for Ganga. Riverfront development may improve its beauty, but it
won't ensure cleaning up of the river," VN Mishra, chairperson of the Sankat Mochan Foundation, told
The Economic Times. And a dirty Ganga is not a luxury we can long afford.
http://www.firstpost.com/india/why-pm-modis-rs-6300-cr-namami-ganga-budget-plan-is-misguided1610643.html
Rs 4,200-crore Ganga waterway plan to help power sector
MUMBAI: The beleaguered power sector will be among the first beneficiaries of the government's
proposal to develop the Ganga waterway. Experts say the Rs 4,200-crore plan will help speed up
transportation of coal to power plants in the north and east of the country. Coal accounts for about
55per cent of India's energy needs.
Despite the country's high dependency on the fuel, problem with logistics means coal from pit heads
generally lies idle for months before it can be moved to railway sidings for transportation to power
plants.
On Thursday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced the government's intent to develop the river route
between Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh and Haldia in West Bengal over the next six years.
The National Waterway project will entail building the river channel and river ports along the banks of
the Ganga.
"It will be used largely for transportation of coal to power plants," said Manish Saigal, managing director
at advisory firm Alvarez & Marsal. "Companies can also use the route to transport coal coming from
Indonesia. This coal usually gets unloaded at Paradip, Haldia and Dhamra on the east coast." Some of
India's largest coal reserves are in the north and east of the country.
Almost 50 per cent of the fuel is transported by rail, 20per cent by road and about 12per cent through
the merry go round (MGR) system, according to Infrasight Consulting.
"The transportation of coal is marred with inherent problems, like reserves being situated in difficult
terrains, which are vastly scattered," the consultancy wrote in a report, adding that "bulk of the coal lies
in the belt of eastern corridor under the forest belt and tribal areas".
Experts say power producers are awaiting the development of inland waterways to transport coal. Last
year, state-run power producer National Thermal Power Corporation started transporting imported coal
through the inland waterways route to its Farakka plant in West Bengal.
"I feel the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor may become a much more effective mode of transport for
power plants in Uttar Pradesh. However, the fact that inland waterway development does not involve
land acquisition, the projects may come on board faster than dedicated freight corridors," said Ashima
Tyagi, senior consultant for metals and mining at Infraline Energy.
The river opens up an alternate channel and industries around that region can use the waterway to
decongest the roads, said Jaydeep Ghosh, national head of transport and logistics at KPMG India.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/power/rs-4200-crore-ganga-waterway-plan-tohelp-power-sector/articleshow/38224678.cms
Howrah eyes a decked up Ganga bank
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KOLKATA: The riverfront on the city side has been beautified but the opposite bank has seen only
"scattered" development so far. But now, state and central agencies are set to roll out a masterplan to
spruce up the Howrah side in a bid to bridge the gap. A proposal has also been sent to the World Bank to
make the project sustainable.
"Some work has been done in a scattered manner on the Howrah side so far and KMDA is studying how
best to move forward. The overall target is to bring the two banks on a par visually and structurally. But
on the Howrah side, getting continuous land has been difficult," said Debashish Sen, principal secretary,
urban development department. KMDA director (planning) Amitava Sengupta confirmed that a proposal
has been sent to World Bank but refused to elaborate on the details.
Plans are afoot under the National Mission for Clean Ganga as well, said officials. "We had received a
guideline that by 2020, there will be no untreated discharge going into the Ganga. Beautification drives
are on the anvil too. Special focus will be given on aforestation, solid waste management and tackling
industrial pollution. In Bengal, 40-odd towns are located on the banks. Already, 28 projects have been
approved, with the Centre and state collaborating in 70:30 ratio. A major development has been in the
integrated sewerage network plan, which has been approved for Halishahar, North 24-Parganas.
Local residents said while they're not completely content with the work done so far on the Howrah side,
they are hopeful. "Earlier it was much worse. Now at least you can catch a breath and enjoy the view at
some stretches. The concretized seating arrangement too have come up in the last year or so," said
Indranath Pal, a businessman who catches the ferry to Chandpal Ghat from Ramkrishnapur Ghat daily.
"But you can't expect a second Millenium Park this side. After all, where is the space," pointed out
another local resident.
At the Ramkrishnapur Ghat, for instance, there has been visible development, with stone benches and
whitewashed railing and mosaic floor. However, there are no sheds, so one has nowhere to take shelter
from the blazing sun or stubborn rain. The maintenance work needs a boost too, with scattered sand and
gutka stains a definite eyesore.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Howrah-eyes-a-decked-up-Gangabank/articleshow/38249263.cms
Ganga Rejuvenation Plan to Commercially Exploit the River: Scientists
Varanasi: Environmental scientists associated with the Ganga Rejuvenation Programme have claimed
that the Union Government's proposal to build barrages, dams and enable navigation of small ships on
the river is going to affect aquatic life and create more pollution.
Vishwambhar Nath Mishra, Professor of Electronics at IIT-BHU and head priest of famous Sankat Mochan
Temple in Varanasi, alleged that the government is ignoring its pledge to ensure continuous and
uninterrupted flow of the river and their proposal will commercially exploit the river Ganga.
Mishra was part of a day-long national dialogue on rejuvenation of the sacred river, 'Ganga Manthan',
held in New Delhi on Monday and organised by National Mission for Clean Ganga. It was attended by
various stakeholders and delegates from different parts of the country and abroad.
Union Road Transport and Highways, Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari who attended the meet had said
that the government has a proposal for navigation of small ships between Varanasi and Hoogly on river
Ganga and barrages cum bridges are proposed to be constructed at every 100 kms on the river.
The Minister had also said that the government is in the last stage of getting Rs. 4000 crore sanctioned
from the World Bank for this project.
Mishra, however, claimed that by building dams, barrages and enabling navigation of ships would lead to
extinction of aquatic life in the river and create more pollution.
"If these barrages will be constructed on the river Ganga at every 100 KM then the divided part of this
holy river would become like 10-15 separate large ponds, where the river's continuous flow of water will
be obstructed, raising serious threat and rise in water pollution levels," he said.
Mishra pointed out that the problems associated with Ganga were raised since 1986 after the
introduction of Rajiv Gandhi's pet project Ganga Action Plan, in which thousand crores of rupees were
spent by the then government.
"The present Modi-led NDA government is going to do the same thing. They are saying that nearly Rs.
80,000 crores would be needed for rejuvenation of the river," he said, adding, that spending money
alone would not be sufficient to solve the river problems.
"...Then why was GAP a failure where huge sums of money were pumped in for cleaning the river?
Constructing dams, or barrages will affect the health of the Ganga, so why is the NDA government doing
the same thing? Why are they repeating the same mistakes that have been committed by the successive
previous regimes?" he asked.
Mishra suggested that the government should install Sewage treatment plants (STPs), fully upgraded and
equipped with latest scientific technology, to ensure not a single drop of sewage flows into the river.
Echoing Mishra's sentiment is another expert member of National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA)
and noted environmental scientist at Banaras Hindu University, B D Tripathi, who also attended the
'Ganga Manthan'.
"Ganga Manthan lacked the discussions on how to ensure continuous and uninterrupted flow of river
from Gangotri to Ganga Sagar to be maintained," Tripathi claimed.
He said the Government should seriously contemplate before executing any programmes and at least
ensure that all hurdles in free flow of the river water must be minimised.
Tripathi lamented that the discussion which should have revolved around providing uninterrupted flow of
Ganga "lacked the will of the government to discuss on resolving this issue."
"It is sad that no one discussed how the flow should be maintained," he said, adding more public
meetings should be held to discuss the river rejuvenation programme.
Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, disciple of Sankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati and
Mahant of Vidya Math, who also attended the meet, alleged "the Modi government is making the river a
materialistic thing to generate revenue which is against its glory."
"If the government would insist on going ahead for constructing barrages then it would be Mr Modi's
betrayal to mother Ganga as well as the people of this country," he said.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/ganga-rejuvenation-plan-to-commercially-exploit-the-river-scientists555908
Expertise from IITs to be Utilised for Cleaning Ganga: Uma Bharti
New Delhi: Union Minister for Water Resources Uma Bharti today said expertise from premier IITs would
be utilised for cleaning Ganga River.
"We will be using various technologies for rejuvenation of Ganga River. We will be utilising the services of
IIT experts and explore all possible options," she told reporters on the sidelines of 'Ganga Manthan' in
New Delhi.
"The Modi government is concentrating on how fast we can usher in development without any flaw. We
are executing things at a fast phase. The Ganga rejuvenation project would be completed within the
shortest period," she asserted.
Replying to a query on the inter-linking of rivers, which was the vision of former Prime Minister Atal
Bihari Vajpayee, she said that there was no progress in the last 10 years in this regard.
"The concept of interlinking of rivers has been halted. The earlier government did nothing. Therefore, it
has not progressed further in the last 10 years. There was no activity; we would use modern technology
for the purpose. We will not flout any environmental rules in any way," she added.
Ms Bharati also announced that a web portal would be launched as part of Ganga clean-up to get
suggestions from various stake holders.
"We have decided that we will create a website for Ganga and by the end of this week, suggestions will
be uploaded. We will discuss the suggestions and move towards a conclusion," she stated.
She emphasised on creation of a structure to take effective action against those committing offences, so
that the society itself protects the free flowing nature and purity of Ganga.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/expertise-from-iits-to-be-utilised-for-cleaning-ganga-uma-bharti554602
Coal cess to fuel Ganga rejuvenation plan
NEW DELHI: The Modi government will drive its ambitious Ganga rejuvenation plan with the cess on coal
that goes into the National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF).
Since the Fund is originally meant for financing and promoting only clean (renewable) energy initiatives,
the government in its 2014-15 budget has proposed to enlarge its ambit and also increased the cess on
coal to make the corpus big enough to finance other activities including Ganga cleaning.
Presenting the budget on Thursday, finance minister Arun Jaitley had proposed to increase the clean
energy cess from Rs 50 per tonne to Rs 100 per tonne. The cess is presently levied on coal, peat and
lignite. The money collected from the cess goes to NCEF which currently has over Rs 3,000 crore in its
kitty.
Jaitley has also proposed to "expand the scope of purposes of levying the cess to include financing and
promoting clean environment initiatives and funding research in the area of clean environment".
Though the finance ministry did not explain what those clean environment initiatives would be, the fineprint of the budget papers clearly bring out that the amount for the national plan to clean\conserve
Ganga would be met from the NCEF.
The NCEF money remained largely unutilized during the previous government. Since it currently has over
Rs 3,000 crore in its kitty, funding the Ganga cleaning mission will not be a problem.
The government in its budget has set aside Rs 2,037 crore for the 'Integrated Ganga Conservation
Mission' called Namami Ganga. Besides, it has also allocated Rs 100 crore for 'Ghat' development and
beautification of river front at Kedarnath, Haridwar, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi and Patna.
The finance ministry had also announced to rope in NRIs as important contributors for Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's pet project by proposing to set up an NRI fund to finance special projects related to
Ganga's rejuvenation.
All these programmes will be implemented by the ministry of water resources, river development and
Ganga rejuvenation under Uma Bharti. Earlier such activities were handled by the environment ministry
under the 'National River Conservation Plan'.
"For greater efficiency in programme delivery, it has now been shifted to the ministry of water
resources," said the budget document.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Coal-cess-to-fuel-Ganga-rejuvenationplan/articleshow/38286212.cms
Tough task for Modi Government: 15 lakh homes along banks of Ganga lack toilets
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his maiden budget has announced an integrated the Ganga development
programme called the 'Namami Gange' and allocated Rs 2,037 crore for this purpose. But, the Narendra
Modi-led Government's most ambitious project is facing major hurdles to rejuvenate country's most
sacred river. As per a Pioneer report, the team constituted for this purpose under a dedicated Union
Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Ministry, headed by Uma Bharti, has
found out that nearly 15 lakh households, 600 schools and 6,000 anganwadis spread across 1,500 gram
panchayats in 220 blocks of 46 districts situated along the banks of the holy river in four States have no
toilet facilities and community sanitary complexes. Defecation is the major cause of pollution in the river.
So, first of all, a proper drainage system and an efficient waste disposal system must be developed. By
December this year, the Government has prepared a time-bound draft action plan envisaging toilet
facilities in at least half of the households along the river stretch. The Government has set a December
2014 deadline to install toilets in all these schools and anganwadis. Projects so far yielded no results, due
to poor implementation Reports further state that a fresh baseline survey is currently on in the riverbasin States of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal to identify more such households by
July 15. The concerned ministry has in the meantime asked all the four States to make the area within 15
metres of the high flood level of the 1,500-mile-long sacred river and its tributaries ‘open-defecation
free'. In its next move the team is asked to identify more such sensitive households lying along its stretch.
The Ganga Action Plan, which was launched in 1984 to clean the river, yielded little or no desirable
results due to the UPA Government's non-implementation of schemes. But open defecation along the
river plains is not the only cause for contaminating the water and depriving the Ganga of its purity. The
depleting industrial effluent standards are also responsible for making the river a pool of diseases. Rules
and regulations were not enforced correctly as the State Pollution Control Boards had neither proper
technical nor human resources. The Ministry and its team would also have to take this matter seriously
too. The ambitious Rs 4,200 crore 'Jal Marg Vikas' project on the Ganga from Allahabad to Haldia, over a
distance of 1,620 km, will certainly boost the inland water transport, which hasn't been utilised yet. But
ample care needs to be taken while implementation of this project as it might not end up polluting the
river further. The Government will surely face a tough task to keep a check over it. Thus, targets for first
action plan are already being set, but it will be interesting to see how this government delivers on this
front. Governments prior to Modi have also set up teams and allocated budgets for both cleaning Ganga
and tackling the problem of sewage treatment. But nothing substantial has happened so far else the
divine river, which according to the Hindu mythology was incarnated as ‘a boon for mankind' and wash
away its sin, would not have turned a dead river.
http://news.oneindia.in/feature/tough-task-modi-government-15-lakh-homes-along-banks-ganga1482171.html
Public toilet plan soon for 1600-mile-long Ganga riverside
The BJP-led NDA Government has chalked out a tentative plan to build thousands of toilets along the
1,600-mile bank-line of the Ganges in an attempt to prevent people from relieving themselves on the
banks the holy river.
Hindus bathe in the Ganges as an act of ritual purification, yet the 2,500-kilometre-long river stretching
from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal is full of industrial effluent and untreated sewage, its banks
strewn with garbage.
One of the major challenges posed to the river's sanctity is the human excreta going into it, which mars
its purity both on the environment front as well as the religious front.
Lack of toilet facilities on the river ghats (banks) forces tourists to relieve themselves on the banks of
Ganges, making it unclean and toxic.
"There is no toilet on the banks and wherever there were, they have all been closed. Nobody is paying
any attention. The tourists face a lot of inconvenience. They go to use the toilets, but the toilets are
closed so if it's an emergency, they relieve themselves by the river in the open.
It is not a pleasant site for other tourists on boats. Moreover, if you see the banks, there is filth
everywhere,"said a resident of Varanasi, Manoj Gupta.
In fact, an alarming recent report by the Department of Atomic Energy's National Centre for
Compositional Characterisation of Materials (NCCM) found that bathing in the Ganga can cause cancer,
after it tested water samples from the river and found carcinogens in them.
The new government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, elected last month to represent the 3,000year-old riverside city of Varanasi, has taken personal responsibility for restoring Maa Ganga, or "Mother
Ganges", as part of a broader push to husband nation's scarce water resources and improve standards of
public health and hygiene.
It has even created a new ministry of water resources, river development and Ganges rejuvenation to
deal with the worrying issue.
Previous attempts to clean up the river, including introducing flesh-eating turtles to devour the charred
remains of the dead cremated on its banks, have failed due to a lack of planning or coordination.
Modi will also seek the advice of holy men on how best to carry out his ambitious plan to cleanse the
Ganges, a river that is sacred to the majority Hindu population.
However, the holy men are concerned about the disposal of the waste from the toilets and are
suggesting construction of toilets miles away from the river banks and some are even discarding the plan
as a bad one.
"Making toilets on the banks of Ganga will ease people's issues but the government will have to ensure
that the waste disposed from the toilets should not go into Ganga," said a member of a religious
organisation,Puranamba.
The new ministry's head, Uma Bharti, has declared that though toilets will be built along the bank, the
water, despite being treated and cleaned, will not be allowed to return to the holy river.
Bharti has promised to come up with detailed proposals in a month and a half for the project, dubbed
"Ganga Manthan". In the Hindi lexicon, manthan signifies a deep contemplation and churning of facts
that leads to enlightenment.
"If it becomes imperative that a place (near the river) has to be assigned for waste and filth, that water
will have to be treated at once. But we will not let that treated water enter the Ganga. I am saying that
purity doesn't mean treated water. Though the water will not only be treated, it will also be
recycled,"said Bharti.
Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party swept to power on his campaign promises to boost economic development
in India. The 63-year-old leader has also stressed Hindu values that he believes have been undermined by
modern secularism.
A day after his election victory last month, Modi travelled to Varanasi to observe a fire ritual in honour of
the sacred river.
"From the beginning to the end, Maa (mother )Ganga, is crying and waiting for her son to free her from
pollution,"he had said in a speech from one of the ghats where riverside ceremonies are held.
Environmental experts have expressed cautious hope that a basin-wide approach advocated by Modi,
involving northern states and neighbouring Nepal and Bangladesh, would help address issues like
reduced meltwater flows into the river caused by the progressive retreat of Himalayan glaciers.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/public-toilet-plan-soon-for-1600-mile-long-gangariverside-114063000763_1.html
Pollution in holy river to be discussed in 'Ganga Manthan'
VARANASI: Renowned environmental scientist from Banaras Hindu University Prof BD Tripathi would
attend the 'Ganga Manthan' at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on July 7. The Ganga Manthan which is a
national dialogue on Ganga is being organised by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) by the
implementation wing of National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) under the aegis of Ministry of
Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
Earlier, the programme was scheduled to be held on July 5 as announced by the Union minister Uma
Bharati. Later, it was re-scheduled on July 7. "I received the invitation from NMGC to attend the
programme", said Tripathi, who is also an expert member of NGRBA.
Ganga Manthan is a national level consultation to facilitate interaction with various stakeholders
including policy makers and implementers, academicians, environmentalists, saints and spiritual leaders
from all faiths and NGOs. It will provide a platform for various stakeholders to come together to discuss
the issues and possible solutions to the challenging task of Ganga rejuvenation. The views expressed by
the stakeholders participating in 'Ganga Manthan' will be helpful for the preparation of a road map for
the preparation of a comprehensive plan to rejuvenate the Ganga.
"In the proposed meeting I will raise the issue of 'Aviralata' (free flow) of Ganga as the 'Nirmalata'
(pollution free water) of the holy river solely depends on its free flow," Tripathi told TOI. During past few
decades the continuous decrease in the flow of Ganga waters has fragmented the river and imposed
serious threat to its ecosystem besides its pollution.
According to him, Ganga conservation programme should adopt a holistic ecological approach based on
self-regulatory mechanism and regeneration abilities to maintain the ecosystem. Point pollution sources
like city sewage and toxic industrial effluents should be treated in specific treatment plants before
release into the river. Suitability and economic viability of the new sewage treatment plants be ensured
before their establishment. Accurate quantity and quality of waste water (sewage, industrial effluents
and laboratory chemicals) generated at Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Hardwar should be assessed for
long term environmental planning.
He said that in the second meeting of NGRBA held on November 1, 2010 under the chairmanship of the
Prime Minister it was resolved that a dedicated institution for Ganga related R&D activities should be
setup at Varanasi as a part of NGRBA. The Ganga Knowledge Centre (GKC) established in New Delhi (till
date non-functional) should be shifted to Varanasi, which is the centrally located place in the Ganga
Basin.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Varanasi/Pollution-in-holy-river-to-be-discussed-in-GangaManthan/articleshow/37562938.cms
Canada Offers To Join Efforts To Clean Up Ganges
NEW DELHI – Canada has offered to collaborate with the government on its ambitious project to clean up
the Ganges or Ganga, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday.
“The Ganga action plan is not a mere river project for us but also a matter of faith for millions of Indians
and, therefore, it will be a valuable addition to the collaboration between India and Canada in the area of
water for health.
“It is bound to further promote India-Canada partnership at different levels,” Singh said after a meeting
with Canadian high commissioner Stewart Beck, who had called on the minister.
Singh, the Union minister for science and technology and earth sciences, said that a joint S&T committee
would be formed by next year between the two countries with an aim to announce new programmes and
awards.
“The action plan is to collaborate in the areas of bio- technology, health, environment, energy, food
security, nano- technology ccience, communication and Industrial R&D,” Singh said.
He added that efforts will be made to expedite the ongoing projects between the two countries on ‘PETMRI automatic tumour detection and recognition’, which will add another dimension to the non-invasive
detection of tumour using PET and MRI.
The two countries have applied for joint international patents which have been filed under a project at
the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Bio-technology, Delhi, to develop new potential
anti-malarial drugs.
Singh added that there was a need to connect the best academic and R&D institutions in the two
countries as that would be important for facilitating new knowledge creation through joint research and
exchange of personnel.
http://thelinkpaper.ca/?p=38804
BJP polarising Ganga clean-up: Jairam Ramesh
Calcutta: Former Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh accused the BJP-led government of
“politicising” the exercise to clean up the Ganga, polarising along religious lines what should essentially
be a science-driven effort.
At least one expert said the initial signal was “not good”, especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi
“submitted puja offerings” directly into the Ganga after the BJP’s victory.
Ramesh, a Congress Rajya Sabha member, said over the past month there has been an effort on the part
of the central government to “polarise” the clean-up drive on religious lines. “The real effort is not to
clean the Ganga but to gain political advantage by acting with a certain ideology in the name of cleaning
the Ganga,” he told The Telegraph on the sidelines of an event in Calcutta.
“The Ganga cannot be cleaned only by sadhus, you need a science-driven process…. Religious practices
actually often pollute the Ganga.”
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the holiest places along the river are generally the most
polluted points.
As environment minister, Ramesh had set up the Prime Minister-led National Ganga River Basin Authority
(NGRBA) in 2009 to carry out a multimillion-crore clean-up drive. Several institutions, including IITs, were
asked to come up with “prescriptions”.
The new government too has been focusing on cleaning the river. Modi, who won from both Varanasi
and Vadodara but retained the Uttar Pradesh seat, offered puja to the Ganga in the temple city after the
BJP swept Uttar Pradesh. “Exactly the opposite is professed for curbing the river’s pollution,” said Biswajit
Mukherjee, a retired state environment official.
Subsequently, Uma Bharti was made minister for water resources and Ganga rejuvenation. Many believe
it was the first signal that prominence would be given to religion in matters related to the river, though
technically it’s the environment ministry’s responsibility to clean up the Ganga. “It is confusing which
department actually controls Ganga cleaning now,” said NGRBA member R.K. Sinha.
“I have nothing against religious leaders. But, as a scientist, I want the process to be science-driven,” the
Patna University professor added.
The government has lined up a mega “Ganga Manthan” programme next week where religious leaders
will discuss ways to clean up the river. “We will spare no effort to ensure that the river flows
relentlessly,” Bharti said recently, adding that not even treated waste water would be allowed to pollute
the river’s sacred waters which she referred to as “Brahma dravya”.
Such claims, an expert said, don’t make any sense. “We cannot even stop sewer water from flowing into
the Ganga,” the NGRBA member said. “Also, treated water forms a reasonable bulk of the water in the
Ganga.”
http://www.abplive.in/india/2014/07/04/article355888.ece/BJP-polarising-Ganga-clean-up-JairamRamesh#.U7atbvmSwuc
UP Will Cooperate With Centre for Cleaning Ganga: Azam Khan
LUCKNOW: Terming pollution of Ganga a serious challenge, Uttar Pradesh government today said it
would cooperate with Central government for cleaning the river.
The issue was raised in the state Assembly by BJP MLA Shayamdev Roychaudhary who moved a
resolution to immediately stop all drains falling in the river.
Referring to the bad condition of Ganga 'ghats' in Varanasi, Roychaudhary said Uttar Pradesh has the
maximum course of the river. The state benefits the most from the river and because of this it also
pollutes it the most, he said.
Making a special reference to the pollution caused by the leather units around Kanpur, the BJP member
said the Pollution Control Board is "useless".
He said despite thousands of crores of rupees being spent under Ganga Action Plan for cleaning it, the
pollution level in the river has gone up instead of going down.
On this, Parliamentary Affairs Minister
Azam Khan said the pollution in Ganga was as a serious challenge.
Since the Central government appear to be serious in making it free of pollution, the state would lend its
full cooperation in this task, he said.
Minister for Handicapped Welfare Ambika Chaudhary said industrial waste was the main cause of
pollution in Ganga and the government ban it.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who won the Lok Sabha election from Varanasi, has promised to clean
Ganga.
Defending his government over the CAG report highlighting mismanagement and financial irregularities
in the organisation of Mahakumbh Mela, Khan said whatever might have been stated in the report, the
event has been hailed at the international level and saints too expressed happiness over the manner in
which it had been held.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/UP-Will-Cooperate-With-Centre-for-Cleaning-Ganga-AzamKhan/2014/07/04/article2314442.ece
Untreated factory waste poisoning Ganga; Kanpur STPs not upgraded to handle tannery discharge
LUCKNOW: A separate ministry on rivers with special focus on Ganga notwithstanding, rejuvenating the
national river will not be an easy task for the Modi government.
Among the many contributors, the tanneries of Kanpur alone add 50 mld of waste to the river everyday.
Of this, only 9 mld waste is treated before being discharged into the river.
If entire Kanpur in taken into account, the district generates 400 mld waste everyday. The three UKfunded sewage treatment plants (STPs), the first to be set up on the Ganga, can however treat only 170
mld waste per day. Had only these treatment plants been upgraded with time, Ganga could have been a
lot cleaner. "If the level of chromium in the tannery waste was 2mg per litre earlier, it is 180 to 190mg
per litre now. The design parameters of the plant are not such that they can treat the highly toxic tannery
waste of present day," said sources in Kanpur Jal Nigam.
Out of the three STPs, two with an installed capacity of 5 mld and 130 mld which were set up in 1986 and
1996 respectively, treat domestic waste. The third one, a 36 mld capacity treatment plant, set up in 1999
to treat industrial waste can treat only 9 mld tannery discharge.
While Kanpur's generation of domestic and industrial waste has increased multifold over the years, the
treatment plants are functioning at a 20-year old installed capacity. This renders even the advanced
technology, UASB, that the plants work on, useless.
Around 400 tanneries located at Jajmau in Kanpur are one of the major centres for processing of raw
hides.
With no efforts made to upgrade the STPs in keeping with the city's requirements, the waste water is
disposed back into the Ganga and Pandu river and used for irrigation. But since only a small amount of it
is treated, a study by the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) in 2006 shows high toxicity in
vegetables grown in Jajmau area.
"A 50 mld treatment plant is proposed to be set up in the same premises where 36 mld plant is functional
in Jajmau," said sources in Ganga PCU, Kanpur.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board's data, out of the 594 industries that discharge their
effluents in the Ganga, UP has maximum 495 industries. The state alone discharges 1800 mld (out of
4030 total mld) waste into the river everyday. CPCB data says that sewage and industrial effluents cause
80% of pollution in Ganga.
General manager, Ganga Pollution Control Unit, Kanpur, Sharad Kumar Semvel, said, "STPs of 210 mld, 43
mld and two of 42 mld are under-construction and will start functioning by end of this year if the funds
are sanctioned."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Untreated-factory-waste-poisoning-Ganga-KanpurSTPs-not-upgraded-to-handle-tannery-discharge/articleshow/37632507.cms
How India's Subsidized Farms Have Created A Water Crisis
The Indo-Gangetic Basin, which lies at the foothills of the Himalayas, is one of the areas in the world
facing a huge water crisis. The Basin spans from Pakistan, across Northern India into Bangladesh. Apart
from runoff from mountainous streams and glaciers, it also holds one of the largest underground bodies
of water in the world. But it’s also in one of the most populous regions of the world, with more than a
billion people living on the subcontinent. Still, parts of the region are well-resourced when it comes to
water supplies - like the Indian state of Punjab, which has three rivers running through it and a network
of canals in some parts.
But Punjab faces serious water shortages and a groundwater table that is falling dramatically. As in
California, farmers have been tapping into groundwater supplies via tubewells. There are 1.3 million
tubewells in the state, and officials say almost all farms have at least one. There are permits for 90,000
more wells awaiting approval. As a result, the water table is dropping by as much as a metre a year,
particularly in the worst-affected regions in central and northern Punjab. It is an alarming figure, and one
that has water experts around the world sitting up and taking notice.
There is a complex web of reasons for the overuse of groundwater - but so far, just a few suggested
solutions have been followed up by local authorities.
Farmer Gupinder Singh has a holding of 14 acres about an hour’s drive outside of the state capital
Chandigarh, in central Punjab. The 28-year-old has been farming for eight years, inheriting the business
from his father before him. In that time, he has seen groundwater levels drop, and has been forced to
sink his submersible motor lower.
“It has gone down,” says Gupinder. “Earlier our motor was at 180 or 190 feet, and now the same motor is
at 250 feet. Bores were earlier at 230 feet, and now the same bores have gone to 350 to 550 feet.”
Gupinder has also seen a drop in the quality of his water. “It is getting dirtier,” he says. “It has gotten
polluted by pesticides and chemicals.”
Punjab’s groundwater problem has its origins in India’s Green Revolution, which was launched in the
1970s as a wide-scale bid to bring home-grown food security to the world’s second most populous
country. Government subsidies, mechanisation and technology were introduced to encourage Punjabis
to turn their lands over to commercial farming. As a result, 97% of Punjab is irrigated, and the state is
described as the breadbasket of India.
These days rice is the crop of choice - but rice is the cause of the problem. Farming rice paddy fields
requires a lot of water - more than three times the amount of water that Punjab usuallly gets in rainfall
each year. And while surface water from canals fills in part of the shortfall, it’s not enough, so
groundwater is needed. In addition, farmers receive free electricity from the state to run their
submersible motors.
Like other farmers, Gupinder Singh is not too concerned with the drop in the water table. Rather, he’s
worried about how much it will cost him to reach the water that is there. Right now, our submersible
motor is at 250 feet,” says Gupinder. “If it goes any deeper, we will need bigger motors and for that we
will put, let us say, a motor of 30 horsepower. We will have to install meters and bear more expenses.”
The government has done little to regulate groundwater use as it’s political: as farmers and their families
make up around 60 percent of Punjab’s population, they represent valuable votes. At the same time,
many Punjabi politicians and officials come from the farmer class. It all adds up to enormous political
clout. At the same time, farmers are also tacitly encouraged to grow wheat and rice, as the government
buys whatever excess stocks they cannot sell at market.
But while there is little pressure from the government on farmers to think about water conservation, the
state is pushing some small measures to address overuse of groundwater. One is the use of a laserguided levelling machine, referred to locally as a laser leveller.
When I visit Gupinder Singh’s farm, a few weeks before the scheduled arrival of the monsoon, an
operator is hard at work driving a tractor over dry fields with a laser leveller attached to the back. The
machine communicates with a receiver which guides it on how much to level, and where to go.
The aim is to achieve as smooth a surface as possible, usually at a small slope, so that less water is used.
“With use of this, water stands easily at one inch across the entire field,” says the farmer. “If the field is
not level, water is not evenly distributed and the motor is also used longer to irrigate hte fields. By using
the laser leveller, the field is irrigated faster and is evenly spread.”
In another part of Gupinder’s farm, fields have been flooded and workers are wading ankle-deep planting
rice seedlings. Punjab suffers a hot, dry summer for a few months in the lead up to the onset of
monsoon rains, which generally come in late June.
In the past, farmers would plant the seedlings in May and pump groundwater for several weeks until the
rains arrived. But a few years ago, the government decreed that farmers could only start planting after
June 15th, closer to the start of the rains. This has helped check water use, although hasn’t fixed the
problem, according to Dr Bharat Sharma of the International Water Management Institute, in New Delhi.
“[Overdrilling] definitely poses a very serious hydrological threat and a very particular level of threat to
food security, not only for this part of India but it could be a problem for regional food security,” says Dr
Sharma. He says India depends too heavily on Punjab state, and changes should be made.
“We can take a large amount of paddy production to the eastern region, where there is a lot of water
available and not much stress on water resources.”
Dr Sharma also suggests that Punjabi farms, which already have good infrastucture in place, could be
turned over to higher value crops, such as fruit, vegetable, meat and dairy. It is advice that Gupinder
Singh has already heeded. He has diversified his crops, and as well as rice, also plants sugarcane, wheat
and a bit of animal fodder.
He says he would like to grow maize, a crop that many experts would like to see more widely grown in
Punjab, however points out that wild buffalo roam nearby and would likely eat the crop.
About ten kilometres away, another farm is making use of government subsidies aimed at trying to
reduce reliance on groundwater. Farmer Jaswinder Singh has successfully grown his first crop of
strawberries after setting up his farm just eight months ago. With help from the government, he installed
a drip irrigation system, also called micro-irrigation. As it drops water straight onto the roots of the
plants, where it’s most needed, it saves a significant amount of water.
“There are a few benefits with drip irrigation,” says Jaswinder. “First, it saves water. Second, with this
system we can control the water, which makes it easier to pluck the strawberries. Right now only the top
soil is wet and it makes it easier to move around. With too much water the crop gets spoilt and over
ripe.”
Local soil officer Gurbinder Dhillon has travelled to the farms with me to see first-hand how farmers are
faring using drip irrigation. “He has saved about 70 percent using drip irrigation,” says Mr Dhillon. “The
government subsidy is 75 percent, and we are raising it to 80 percent in coming months.”
Still, these innovations are having only a limited effect on reducing India’s agricultural dependence on
groundwater. Without political will, the rapid depletion of Punjab’s water table will continue.
http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-07-02/how-indias-subsidized-farms-have-created-water-crisis
Ganga Ki Saugandh: Findings of ABP News reveals Ganga water is unfit for drinking, bathing or farming
New Delhi: ABP News has brought to you the investigation report of how contaminated and polluted our
holy river Ganga has turned out to be. The river Ganga is the lifeline to millions of countrymen but with
pollutants being continuously dumped into it, the river has become a hotbed of diseases.
'Ganga Ki Saugandh', a vow to save the river, is the campaign ABP News has been running over the years.
Garbage, unplanned sewage system and industrial waste that are being injected into it regularly have
overshadowed all cleansing efforts by various organizations.
Water Resource Minister Uma Bharti has vowed to clean up river Ganga, one of the key priorities of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has won the election from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. We hope our
findings would be taken up seriously by the current BJP government in their pious task of rejuvenating
Ganga.
The objective of the present study conducted with Shriram Institute for Industrial Reach is to undertake
water quality study on the course of river Ganga from Rishikesh (in Uttarakhand) to Howrah (West
Bengal) with an aim to understand water quality at various locations. The samples have been taken from
six spots.
Let us first look at the amount of waste that is being discharged into the Ganga
Haridwar: Haridwar discharges 3.90 cr litre of sewage pollution every day. The sewage treatment plant
capacity can only treat 1.80 cr litre. 2.10 cr litre waste material still flows into Ganga every day. Each
devotee releases roughly 650 grams of puja materials into the Ganga at a time. During Maghi Purnima
1000 tonne of puja materials are released into the Ganga.
Kanpur: 800 leather tanneries are functioning in Kanpur. 5 cr litre poisonous effluents is being discharged
into the Ganga. From Kanpur 50 cr litre sewage drains out. Sewage treatment plant capacity is only 21 cr
litre. Hence, 29 cr litre sewage waste gets mixed into Ganga.
Allahabad: Water is not reaching the river banks here & water flow is receding. Still water is unable to
take away the formed sediments. Everyday 20 cr litre sewage is being drained out. Cleaning up system
only manages to treat 8.9 cr litre. Nearly 11 cr litre sewage is being drained into Ganga.
Varanasi: Waste & puja materials from 80 ghats discharged into Ganga. Everyday 18 cr litre effluents let
off but cleaning up system can treat only 14 cr litre. Treatment plants don’t operate due to lack of
electricity. 4 cr litre waste pushed into Ganga everyday.
Patna: No sewage treatment plant installed in Patna after 1986. 3 sewage treatment plants don’t
function properly. Everyday 25 cr litre waste is being discharged. Govt claim is of cleaning up only 11 cr.
Bodies of animals directly thrown into the Ganga. This practice has not been stopped despite court
orders.
Howrah: Factory waste flowed into Hooghly banks. Ships also leave waste into Hooghly river. Everyday
13.6 cr litre of dirty water let off into Ganga. Cleaning up system treats only 6 cr litre. The rest 7.6 litre
flows into Ganga.
Inferences of Study
Water Quality Study conducted at various locations on the course of river Ganga based on 1-day
composite sampling (24-hourly) during the month June,2014 reveals with respect to the limits as
specified in the Indian Standard Specification of Drinking Water IS 10500-1991 Ed 2.2 (2003-09) that:
·Turbidity (measure of relative clarity of a liquid) is found above the permissible limits at all locations
·Iron is found exceeding the permissible limits at all the locations, except at Patna, where it is found
above desirable limit but equal to permissible limit.
·Manganese is found exceeding the desirable limit of 0.1 mg/l at Rishikesh (0.15 mg/l), d/s Haridwar (0.17
mg/l),Kanpur u/s (0.14 mg/l), Allahabad u/s (0.20 mg/l). Remaining sources are found to have
manganese below the desirable limit.
·Dissolved Oxygen is found low at u/s Kanpur (1.4 mg/l), d/s Kanpur (1.1 mg/l), u/s Varanasi (3.9 mg/l),
d/s Varanasi (2.8 mg/l) and Patna (3.6 mg/l).
·BOD is found on higher side at u/s Kanpur (21 mg/), d/s Kanpur (18 mg/l), u/s Varanasi (13 mg/l), d/s
Varanasi (15 mg/l) and Patna (12 mg/l).
·The desirable limit of mineral oil in drinking water is 0.01 mg/l, whereas permissible limit in the absence
of alternate sources is 0.03 mg/l. In present study, mineral oil is not detected (i.e <0.01 mg/l) at Rishikesh
and Howrah whereas it is found 0.4 mg/l at Allahabad and 1.0 mg/l at Haridwar. In the remaining
locations it varies from 4.0 mg/l to 16 mg/l and hence is found above the permissible.
· Samples drawn from all the locations are found to have MPN coliforms, E. Coli and fecal coliforms
positive.
What have we found out from the Investigation:
1.Ganga water is unfit for drinking from any of the locations.
2.MPN coliform tests have revealed that due to excessive bacteria Ganga, water is unfit for bathing
3.In all tests E-Coli has been found, hence the water cannot be used for farming purposes as well.
4.The worst condition of water has been found at Patna, Kanpur and Varanasi which has damaged the
river's overall aquatic life.
5.The water is filthy which can be observed in the first glance itself.
6.From all samples collected, it has been found that the water is unfit drinking as it contains high content
of iron.
7.The mineral oil discharged from factories and automobile sectors are being discharged into the Ganga
in all locations apart from Rishikesh and Howrah. This shows that the factory effluents are being released
into Ganga without being treated.
http://www.abplive.in/india/2014/07/04/article356311.ece/Ganga-Ki-Saugandh%C2%A0Findings-ofABP-News%E2%80%99-investigation-report#.U7jycvmSwuc
National dialogue on Ganga rejuvenation on Monday
NEW DELHI: The first national dialogue on river Ganga — GangaManthan — will take place on July 7.
Union ministers, MPs, scientists, experts, religious leaders and NGOs will participate in this day-long
brainstorming on the Ganga rejuvenation plan.
Views and suggestions expressed by stakeholders during the session will be shared with a committee of
secretaries (CoS) that has been working on a blueprint to develop the river. This group is expected to
submit its plan by mid-July.
The national dialogue will be organized here by the National Mission for Clean Ganga, which is
functioning under the ministry of environment. It is expected that the mission's schemes will eventually
be implemented by the ministry of water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation.
"Idea of Ganga Manthan is to bring all concerned citizens, including sadhus and saints, on one platform
where they can exchange views and suggest ways and means to rejuvenate the river," water resources
and Ganga rejuvenation minister Uma Bharati had said last month.
Announcing the brainstorming on Ganga, she had said that though this programme would be called
Ganga Manthan, it would include discussions on Yamuna and other important rivers of the country which
also need to be cleaned and developed on priority basis.
Emphasizing that the river could not remain clean unless every citizen cooperates, Bharati had said her
ministry would approach the issue by making the Ganga rejuvenation plan a 'Jan Andolan' (people's
movement).
The ministry will soon launch a website on the Ganga, inviting suggestions for cleaning the river from all
over the world.
Besides Bharati, environment minister Prakash Javadekar, transport and shipping minister Nitin Gadkari,
tourism minister Shripad Naik and minister of state for water resources Santosh Kumar Gangwar will
attend the dialogue on Ganga.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/National-dialogue-on-Ganga-rejuvenation-onMonday/articleshow/37800900.cms
'Sabarmati model not enough for Ganga'
A new ministry to tackle the cleaning of the Ganga may not really change its fate, nor can the "Sabarmati
model", experts say, adding that legislative provisions are needed to ensure that the river's glory is
restored.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid special emphasis on cleaning the 2,525 km- river, which is
deified by millions of Hindus and is part of India's literature and lore while providing water to over 40
percent of India's population across 11 states, environmentalists count the large number of dams as one
of the biggest problems for the health of the river.
The separate ministry for the Ganga created under Uma Bharti brings hope, but it is yet to come up with
a concrete plan.
"Cleaning is not a solution for the Ganga... the three head streams - Bhagirathi, Alaknanda and Mandakini
- all have several dams and barrages. This, coupled with higher withdrawal of ground water, results in
more river water seeping into the ground. Water extracted through canals also makes the inflow of rivers
in the Ganga diminish," environment scientist and member of National Ganga River Basin Authority
(NGRBA) B.D. Tripathi told IANS.
The NGRBA was constituted in 2009 under the chairmanship of then prime minister Manmohan Singh for
cleaning the Ganga.
According to Tripathi, several issues concerning river management do not fall within the present
legislative framework, such as maintenance of environmental flows, protection of a river basin's ecology
and biodiversity, maintenance of ground water table, consolidation of plans for the diversion of river
waters in different stretches, discharge of sewage, obstructions to river flow and loss of connectivity and
use of floodplains and active floodplains.
The Ganga River Basin Management Plan (GRBMP), prepared by NGRBA and a consortium of seven IITs
recently recommended new legislation and constitutional provisions enabling the establishment of a
commission for the management of the Ganga river basin.
"The Ganga is a national river and hence needs national policies. Now that there is an independent
ministry, we need to realise that the Ganga has to be managed centrally though a legal framework to
ensure that issues related to the river, its flow, and its basin are addressed uniformly all over the
country," said Tripathi.
While Modi points to Gujarat's Sabarmati river as an example when he promised to clean up the Ganga,
activists say this holds no water for the Ganga.
The Sabarmati is one of Gujarat's biggest rivers. It originates from the Dhebar lake in the Aravalli range in
Rajasthan's Udaipur district and drains through the Gulf of Khambhat into the Arabian Sea after travelling
371 km in a southwesterly direction. It flows through Gujarat's capital Gandhinagar and twin town
Ahmedabad and has an elaborate river front developed as a prime tourist attraction.
Environmentalists point out that the Sabarmati has not been cleaned. The Narmada water has only been
diverted into it, making it appear clean.
"The so-called Sabarmati model won't work for the Ganga. The Sabarmati has neither been cleaned nor
rejuvenated," environmentalist and coordinator of NGO South Asia Network on Dams, Himanshu
Thakkar, told IANS.
"What we see flowing through Sabarmati in Ahmedabad is the water of the Narmada which was
supposed to be for the drought-prone areas of Gujarat," Thakkar added.
On the same lines, convener of NGO Toxics Watch Alliance Gopal Krishna said: "The Gujarat water
management model cannot work for the Ganga because it has not worked for even Gujarat... Diverting
Narmada water to the Sabarmati is hardly a solution. The Sabarmati river front is an assault on the flood
plain of the river."
Over 2,500 km long, the Ganga flows through one of the most populated regions of the Indo-Gangetic
plains, supporting a population of more than 400 million, almost a third of India's total.
More than Rs.5,000 crore has been spent on cleaning the Ganga in the past 28 years - but with little
effect.
In 1974, India first tried to tackle river pollution through the Water Pollution Act. The Ganga Action Plan
was launched in 1986 and was in 1994 extended to the Yamuna, Gomti and other tributaries of the
Ganga.
The second phase of the Ganga Action Plan was launched in 2000 and NGBRA was created in 2009.
"Despite of all this, the state of the river has not improved but has only worsened. It is not because of
lack of finance, infrastructure or technology, but a failure of governance," Thakkar told IANS.
The activist, however, added that it is not too late if a dedicated effort is made.
"If there is a political will, one simple order to this effect will create wonders. The government should
announce that henceforth, no sewage or effluents will be permitted to flow into the Ganga. This will
serve the purpose. The culprits will be compelled to look for alternative ways of dealing with sewage and
effluents," he added.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/sabarmati-model-not-enough-for-ganga114070600115_1.html
Make Ganga users pay for clean-up: Activists
NEW DELHI: The 40 crore people who benefit from the Ganga have to be made contributors in its
rejuvenation and governance of the water body made transparent if the river is to be saved, activists said
on the eve of a mega meeting called by the government on Monday.
The meeting, Ganga Manthan, organized by the National Mission for Clean Ganga, is being billed as the
first national dialogue on the river. The daylong meet will be attended by Union ministers, MPs,
scientists, experts, religious leaders and NGOs.
"Ganga can only be saved if all stakeholders are aware of the threats," said environmentalist Anil Joshi
ahead of the meet. "That includes the 40-odd crore consumers who use Ganga in some way or another.
Government has to find ways of taking contributions from them in a clean-up plan.
Joshi, founder of NGO Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization, said the river
must be divided into different ecological zones and specific strategies developed for each zone. Activists
said the new government must probe why expenditure running into thousands of crores has failed to
improve the river. "The first step is to make institutions connected with rivers accountable and
transparent," said water activist Himanshu Thakkar of South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People.
"There are as many as 22 sewage treatment plants in Delhi. Did you know most of these do not work?
Government has spent thousands of crores in creating infrastructure but we know little about how these
are faring," Thakkar said. Vishwambhar Nath Mishra, president of Varanasi's Sankat Mochan Foundation
(SMF) which has been working to clean the Ganga for three decades, identified sewage as a major river
pollutant.
"Not a single drop of sewage should go into Ganga. Sewage accounts for 95% of river pollution in big
cities such as Varanasi, Kanpur and Allahabad. These cities need an appropriate and foolproof collection
system, which should be gravity-based and not power dependent," he said, adding there are technologies
to harness energy, nutrients, manure and clean water from sewage which need to be used.
Joshi said the river's clean-up efforts could also generate employment. "For instance, flowers thrown into
the river can be collected and made into essence or compost," he said. The activists pointed out that the
most important act for the government would be to ensure that there's flow in the river.
"Flow drives the river and the entire eco-system based on it. But in our country, there's no legal
requirement for dams to leave any water for the river. Rivers are dying also because we are leaving no
water for them. This has to change," said Thakkar.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Make-Ganga-users-pay-for-clean-upActivists/articleshow/37930619.cms
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/academicians-technocrats-saints-ngosand-policy-makers-to-discuss-cleaning-ganga-project/articleshow/37924431.cms
June 2014
Sonar to help slow Bangladesh erosion in Ganges delta
OSLO(Reuters) - Bangladesh will start using sonar to help slow erosion of its biggest island in the Ganges
Delta where climate change and rising sea levels are adding to risks, a Dutch-Bangladeshi consortium said
on Tuesday.
Floods constantly reshape low-lying Bhola island, which is 130 kms (80 miles) long and home to 1.7
million people. A 1776 map showed that it was oval but it is now more banana-shaped due to erosion by
the Meghna River that is part of the delta.
The consortium told Reuters that a 1.5 meter (5 ft) long sonar, similar to equipment used to search for
missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, will be towed behind a boat to check protective sandbags off the
fast-eroding eastern coast.
Monthly sonar surveys would let experts see if the bags, weighing up to about 250 kg (550 lbs), were
shifting in waters that are too muddy and fast-flowing for divers. The erosion early warning system would
allow damaged bags to be replaced.
"This will save a lot of money on repair work," Jan Bron, project manager at Dutch engineering
consultancy Royal HaskoningDNV, told Reuters.
If it works, the project will expand to other areas of Bangladesh, which is among the nations most
vulnerable to climate change. It could also be applied to other low-lying countries.
Planning for the project will cost 1.3 million euros ($1.77 million) and the Dutch and Bangladeshi
governments will each give 22 million euros to help protect a vulnerable part of Bhola's coastline.
The consortium comprises Royal HaskoningDHV, technology firms AGT Netherlands and TechForce
Innovations from the Netherlands and Bangladesh's TigerIT, engineering group EPC and the Institute of
Water Modelling.
"The system will provide a good insight into how erosion takes place," Pieter-Christiaan van OranjeNassau, Chief Executive of AGT Netherlands, said in a statement.
Bhola "is just 6 feet above sea level at the highest point. Climate change will have an effect," Bron said.
Global sea levels have risen by about 20 cms (8 inches) since 1900 and could rise by almost a meter in the
worst case this century due to a melt from Greenland to Antarctica, according to a U.N. panel of climate
experts.
The panel says it is at least 95 percent probable that man-made greenhouse gas emissions are causing
global warming, adding to risks of floods, droughts and rising sea levels. Bangladesh is vulnerable to
cyclones and shifting monsoon rains. ($1 = 0.7357 euros)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-environment-bangladesh-20140624,0,6345660.story
Ways to help slow erosion in Ganges Suggestion to use 'sonar'
Reuters, Oslo :Bangladesh will start using sonar to help slow erosion of its biggest island in the Ganges
Delta where climate change and rising sea levels are adding to risks, a Dutch-Bangladeshi consortium said
on Tuesday.Floods constantly reshape low-lying Bhola island, which is 130 kms (80 miles) long and home
to 1.7 million people. A 1776 map showed that it was oval but it is now more banana-shaped due to
erosion by the Meghna River that is part of the delta.The consortium told Reuters that a 1.5 meter (5 ft)
long sonar, similar to equipment used to search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, will be towed
behind a boat to check protective sandbags off the fast-eroding eastern coast.Monthly sonar surveys
would let experts see if the bags, weighing up to about 250 kg (550 lbs), were shifting in waters that are
too muddy and fast-flowing for divers. The erosion early warning system would allow damaged bags to
be replaced."This will save a lot of money on repair work," Jan Bron, project manager at Dutch
engineering consultancy Royal HaskoningDNV, told Reuters.If it works, the project will expand to other
areas of Bangladesh, which is among the nations most vulnerable to climate change. It could also be
applied to other low-lying countries.Planning for the project will cost 1.3 million euros ($1.77 million) and
the Dutch and Bangladeshi governments will each give 22 million euros to help protect a vulnerable part
of Bhola's coastline.The consortium comprises Royal HaskoningDHV, technology firms AGT Netherlands
and TechForce Innovations from the Netherlands and Bangladesh's TigerIT, engineering group EPC and
the Institute of Water Modelling."The system will provide a good insight into how erosion takes place,"
Pieter-Christiaan van Oranje-Nassau, Chief Executive of AGT Netherlands, said in a statement.Bhola "is
just 6 feet above sea level at the highest point. Climate change will have an effect," Bron said.Global sea
levels have risen by about 20 cms (8 inches) since 1900 and could rise by almost a meter in the worst case
this century due to a melt from Greenland to Antarctica, according to a UN panel of climate experts.The
panel says it is at least 95 percent probable that man-made greenhouse gas emissions are causing global
warming, adding to risks of floods, droughts and rising sea levels. Bangladesh is vulnerable to cyclones
and shifting monsoon rains.
http://thedailynewnation.com/news/16484/ways-to-help-slow-erosion-in-ganges-suggestion-to-usesonar.html
Narendra Modi's Ganga clean-up plan must engage with national policy on vital issues: Sumaira
Abdulali
The Ganga clean-up plan is very welcome and long overdue. A positive, environmentally friendly step
from our new Government —one which we look with hope that it will be successfully implemented and
set the standard for other rivers of the country, most of which are suffering extreme neglect and
exploitation along with the Ganges.
Rivers are pristine at their origins, but worsen as they pass through populated areas. The Ganga before it
passes Rishikesh is clear and banked with white sand but deteriorates rapidly thereafter.
In Maharashtra, rivers in a state of crisis include the Mithi, Patalganga, Godavari, Kundalika, and Ulhas
Rivers. All pass through industrial and urban areas, and depending on the extent and type of industry,
become polluted with chemical and other effluents before they reach the sea. Most are exploited for
their sand which is seen as a free natural reserve, available in unlimited quantities.
Communities including urban communities have close interaction with their surroundings and, since most
urban areas are located on rivers, creeks (where the river meets the sea), are dependent on them for
their food, water security and land security. Compromising rivers and creeks is dangerous to the longterm survival of our cities and these must be protected as a priority.
Polluted rivers affect the food chain by poisoning the fishing catch and contaminating the drinking water.
They affect our air quality by releasing toxic vapours into the air we breathe. They affect our recreational
activities and quality of life by making beaches and river banks unfit for leisure activities.
In 2014, a study conducted by TERI found that all west flowing rivers, many of which source drinking
water for Mumbai are highly polluted and have been so since 2007. They contain extremely high
concentrations of fecal matter due to semi-treated sewage; by the time they reach the sea, the quality of
water makes it undesirable for any kind of recreational activity, affects fish, migratory birds, beaches and
vegetation.
Oil spills are a regular feature and major and minor spills occur with frequency in port areas situated on
creeks. Since creeks carry water far inland, these oil spills often affect communities and rivers deep
within the land and can compromise fishing and recreation far beyond the actual area of spill.
Sand mining further burdens our rivers. At the point that a river meets the sea, it becomes subject to
tidal action from the sea and water quality becomes salty. It is at this juncture that mangroves can grow.
The existence of mangroves clearly point out the salty nature of the water, where a river becomes a
creek. Due to the intermingling of two ecosystems, the marine and the terrestrial, creeks are a crucial
meeting point and exchange between both ecosystems. For coastal cities like Mumbai, creeks protect the
land from the sea’s full force by providing a natural outlet for the interface between land and sea. If the
creeks are removed or compromised, we could rapidly start losing land by erosion through force of the
sea’s tides and our ground water would become rapidly contaminated by intrusion of sea water in the
land.
In recent years, massive quantities of sand are regularly extracted from rivers and creeks to supply the
rapidly growing construction industry. There are no studies or data regarding the quantity of sand which
is required both at present or in future, or the quantity of sand which is actually being extracted.
At the Ganga, Swami Nigamananda Saraswati went on a hunger fast to protest excessive sand mining and
died without the problem being addressed. In other parts of the country, protests against unsustainable
and illegal sand mining have been met with violence and the sand mafia has murdered officers and
civilians who stand in their way.
A clean up of the Ganga which addresses the various problems facing our rivers is the need of our times.
Most of our major cities are situated on river- banks or on the sea, close to the meeting point of rivers
with the sea. Historically, cities have depended on the ecosystems and livelihoods provided by rivers,
creeks and marine life. The long-term survival of our cities still depends on these ecosystems.
The Ganga clean up is a beginning, one which I hope acknowledges and forms a prototype for clean up of
all our rivers. It is absolutely crucial that this clean up plan is not only cosmetic but engages with national
policy on vital issues including treatment of sewage, garbage disposal, industrial pollution, oil pills and
sand mining.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-narendra-modi-s-ganga-clean-up-plan-must-engage-withnational-policy-on-vital-issues-sumaira-abdulali-1997695
Environment Under Siege in New India
Not even a month into the Narendra Modi government, it seems like one is reading pages out of The
Pelican Brief, the Grisham-Roberts thriller. Only, the locale is not Louisiana, in the United States, the river
is not the Mississippi, and the NGO is not Green Fund. The country is India, the river, Ganga (Ganges in
foreign tongues), the bird, the hornbill and not the pelican, and the NGO, Greenpeace. And the top
political issue that has emerged domestically for the new Indian government is the "environment,"
almost a dirty word now if one follows this month's television debates.
Environment is also a dirty word because the party that opposed Narendra Modi directly, the Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP) and its leader Arvind Kejriwal, included two dozen environmental activists among its
candidates, people like Medha Patkar, Anjali Damania - who took on Nitin Gadkari, a powerful Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) leader in Maharashtra and now urban development minister - and S P Udaykumar, the
anti-nuclear activist whom AAP supported in Tamilnadu. The BJP supports nuclear arms, and anti-nuke
activists are anathema to it.
Patkar, leader of the Narmada river displaced persons' movement (Narmada Bachao Andolan) has been
at loggerheads with the Modi government in Gujarat for decades, fighting a dam in this western state
that has displaced thousands in upper-river basins. The verdict is, having won its majority, the BJP and its
thinking represents India's majority thinking, that the environment is bad and people and organizations
involved with the environment are "anti-national." One of the first things that the union government and
the new water ministry has done is to clear increasing the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam by 17 meters
- which, says Medha Patkar and her NBA, has already displaced 200,000 people in its effected region. "If
the height is raised by 17 meters, the densely populated villages in Nimad area of Madhya Pradesh with
houses, farms, shops, temples, mosques and standing crops would be drowned," she has said. But she
lost the elections. Who now cares what she says?
The tone for the current policy was set as long ago as 2006, when, in a speech, the then Gujarat chief
minister, Modi, lambasted a "wealthy" and "influential" class of non-government organizations that "hire
PR firms to continually build their image" with "money coming from abroad." The occasion was the
release of the first edition of "NGOs, Activists & Foreign Funds: Anti-Nation Industry," edited by Radha
Rajan and Krishen Kak - a collection of articles on what they called the "anti-Hindu agenda and corrupt
practices of certain NGOs and activists."
While the peaceful transition of power kept the world glued to a new India that voted a Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) government to power in May 2014, it took about 15 days for people to realize the principal
agenda on the table. Growth means build and build, as furiously as China has been doing, to outgrow
China. This seems to be the mood of the nation so colorfully argued every night by BJP leaders like Yatin
Oza, who credits environmentalists with stopping all of India's development, to the extent of having
"negatively impacted GDP growth by 2 to 3 percent." The NGOs have been officially accused of violating
Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) clearances, mandatory for organizations receiving foreign aid.
When ministries were announced, many thought that the Environment Ministry would be accorded low
importance, as right-wing policy makers and strategists viewed it as a hindering and obstructionist
ministry. Defense, a key portfolio, and finance, understandably went to Arun Jaitley, a long-time BJP
veteran, who personally lost his first direct elections this May, though. The new environment minister,
Prakash Javadekar, met Defense Minister Jaitley on June 10 and two days later announced a policy that
would enable India's border states with Pakistan, China and Burma to clear defense projects falling within
100 kilometers of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), without approaching the union government for
environment clearances.
The 4,000-kilometer long LAC touches four states, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh
and Sikkim, which are ecologically fragile, with glaciers, forests and sanctuaries through which at least 80odd roads can now be built. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has short-listed 20-odd
proposals which will be approved by July. Another 5,000 acres of land in Arunachal Pradesh bordering
China has been cleared for the Indian Army and Air Force's new Mountain Strike Corps in the eastern
sector.
The Environment Ministry also cleared a radar unit at Narcondam Island in the ecologically fragile
Andaman and Nicobar islands, both moves seen by experts as a way to counter China in the northern
borders and China's naval power in Sri Lanka and Malaysia (Coco Island). The Narcondam is home to the
rare hornbill, and the expansion of Phase II of the futuristic Karwar naval base in coastal Karnataka radar
station was on hold for two decades. No more.
The MoEF also reportedly started consultations with ministries like Coal, Power, Mining and Steel ''to give
a push to pending projects that run into tens of thousands of crores.'' If environment clearance is
facilitated, mining of uranium in Meghalaya and Andhra Pradesh (Jaduguda) will also become easier. The
defense sector has been seeking this relaxation for 30 years, as India has to import uranium and cannot
mine. Mining of coal is also mired in clearance controversies in core tiger habitats, and today India
imports coal. This is another area the Environment Ministry is expected to free from clearance hurdles.
There are Vedanta and Posco projects, in Odisha, halted by tribal rights groups and green activists.
Questioning liability laws and safety adherences, Indian activists oppose nuclear power projects, more so
after the Fukushima tsunami. Safety has always been an issue for the 22 nuclear power plants in
operation in India since the 1970s.
Narendra Modi won his parliament seat from the ancient city of Varanasi on the banks of the river Ganga.
He tweeted, ''Need of the hour is to restore the glory of the Ganga... Today Maa Ganga is calling us, her
children to make the river clean once again. When I see the pitiable condition of Ganga I feel pained but I
feel it is Maa Ganga who has decided I have to do something for Her." Modi had a case. The Ganges is
India's most polluted river. The three most important water issues before Water Minister Uma Bharati
are cleaning up the Ganga, cooperating with the Environment, Power and Agriculture Ministries to
provide water and power, even by interlinking rivers, and resolving interstate and international river
water disputes. For the last 20 years, there has been a Rs 27,000 crore project called the Ganga Action
Plan, but the Ganga at Varanasi is at its most polluted still. Disaster management is yet another issue. In
places like Uttarakhand, unregulated damming for hydroelectricity has caused rivers to shift and wash
land away. Now, Modi, on his first foreign visit to the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, has sought
hydropower cooperation.
Since the 1980s, there has been a plan to link India's northern Himalayan rivers with the southern Deccan
rivers, along the lines of China's $60 billion project. This has meant a burden of Rs 70,000 crore and Rs
110,000 crore on the public treasury in India's last two growth plans. River linking was in the BJP's
election manifesto and remains a priority, though experts have protested, saying, "The interlinking of
rivers will disrupt the entire hydrological cycle . . . Besides, some 4.5 lakh people may be displaced and
79,292 hectares of forests may be submerged. Far from increasing productivity through irrigation along
its course, the large network of dams and canals may alter the natural drainage, causing flooding and
waterlogging to inundate millions of hectares of agricultural land. The equitable distribution of water
across the country will inadvertently distribute pollutant loads across rivers as well."
Interestingly, fertilizer imports top India's import basket and the Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizer is
Ananth Kumar, a fundraiser from Karnataka, often accused of links to the mining industry and baron Gali
Janardhan Reddy and his brother (the Reddy brothers), accused of illegal mining in Goa, Karnataka and
Andhra Pradesh and bribing judges. Among their defense counsel was Mukul Rohatgi, India's new
attorney general.
Everything is falling in place to ensure the environment and environmental NGOs and their activists are
kept under check. Television and the Economic Times reported that an Intelligence Bureau memo on
June 3 accused "foreign-funded" NGOs such as Greenpeace, Cordaid, Amnesty and ActionAid of "serving
as tools for foreign policy interests of Western governments" by sponsoring agitations against nuclear
and coal-fired power plants across the country. India has over 2 million NGOs.
The NGOs named as harming India's growth include Narmada Bachao Andolan, and PUCL (the civil
liberties organization that fought for Vinayak Sen's freedom). The IB report says: "these foreign-funded
NGOs are allegedly the influence behind 'Praful Bidwais and Medha Patkars.'" It says Greenpeace, an
international NGO working in the clean energy sector, received Rs 45 crore of foreign funds to oppose
coal mining in India. "Since 2013, Greenpeace has undertaken protests in five project-affected villages of
Mahaan (in Madhya Pradesh) coal block allocated to Essar and Hindalco under the banner of Mahaan
Sangarsh Samiti. Its activists have been targeting coal mining companies, specifically Coal India Limited,
Hindalco, Aditya Birla group and Essar as they 'stand in their way,'" the report says.
''A consortium of NGOs like Maldhari (herdsmen) Rural Action Group (MARAG), People's Union for Civil
Liberties, Movement for Secular Democracy, Gujarat Sarvodaya Mandal, etc. are making efforts to
debunk the Gujarat model of development," the IB report says. Modi lured voters with the Gujarat model
of development. The report also names Movement for Secular Democracy, which has been active in
various cases being contested by victims of the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat. The IB report highlights
another Gujarat-linked project as being under NGO attack, the Par Tapi Narmada River Interlinking
Project with protests led by Parthi Purna Adivasi Sangathan (PPAS) against the construction of six dams in
Gujarat and one in Maharashtra to move water from surplus Western Ghats (western coastal mountain
range) to north Gujarat and Saurashtra/Kutch. The Sarvodaya Parivar Trust, another NGO opposing the
project, is also in their sights.
The report further alleges that several NGOs are at the forefront of anti-GMO food activism in India,
"with Germany being the main source of funds." ASHA (Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture)
and IFSF (India For Safe Food) have been identified as among such NGOs - the other two being Navdanya
and Gene Campaign - which have been leading anti-GMO food activism in India.
The IB report says nearly $40,000 was deposited in two bank accounts of S P Udayakumar, convener of
the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy that has been at the forefront of the agitation against the
Kudankulam nuclear project. Four other NGOs, Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF), Coalition for Nuclear
Disarmament & Peace (CNDP), Popular Education & Action Centre (PEACE) and Jan Sangharsh Samanvaya
Samiti are all active in anti-nuclear weapons and power campaigns.
The media is not, however, questioning the funding of a radical outfit like the Hindu Rashtra Sena (HRS),
which badgered a young man to death last week because of his religion, or the clearance to e-commerce
portals like e-Bay or to Reliance gas or the Adani group, which are said to have funded the BJP's election
campaign. It is known the new government will go to bat for Posco and Vedanta, and active mining, and
has rapid building plans across the country. Prime Minister Modi's cabinet calls this "empowerment,
progress and development," although environmentalists are crying foul.
http://truth-out.org/news/item/24554-environment-under-siege-in-new-india
Protecting ponds means saving Ganga
VARANASI: The city is losing its ponds and water bodies rapidly. The Varanasi Municipal Corporation,
which has 32 BJP corporators and the mayor of the party, has failed to protect and conserve the ponds.
The city also has three BJP MLAs. Even then the water bodies, which are instrumental in recharging the
groundwater table, are disappearing due to encroachments.
Once known for ponds and sacred kunds, the city is situated on the bank of the Ganga. The holy river was
one of major poll planks of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP during the parliamentary election.
After winning the election, the PM had vowed to serve the holy river. Protecting ponds would be a great
service to Ganga, said an environmentalist.
"It is a matter of concern and we are contemplating for appropriate measures to protect our ponds and
water bodies," said mayor Ram Gopal Mohale, when asked about the fate of ponds. But, he failed to
explain what action would be taken in this regard. He said that he would inspect the threatened ponds
and act accordingly.
"Ponds play a major role in groundwater recharging, hence these should protected and conserved on
priority basis," said environmentalist BD Tripathi. He said that rainwater harvesting, its storage, multiple
uses at micro-community level and groundwater recharging practices should be encouraged to maintain
the groundwater status and save the Ganga water.
But several ponds in the city are facing threat to existence. According to Surendra Narain Gaur of a local
NGO Janadhikar Evam Swapak Nishedh Apradh Niyantran Janch Bureau, a committee was constituted for
the conservation and protection of water bodies on the guidelines issued by the Allahabad High Court in
2007. The committee had identified 63 ponds of religious importance.
Gaur said that the Supreme Court (1999) and the High Court (2007) have given guidelines related to the
restoration of water bodies in original form as mentioned in the revenue records of the year 1952.
Several ponds like Lohata Talab, Sagra Talab, Tulsipur Talab, Kanporwa Talab, Dev Pokhari, Nevada Talab,
Shushkeshwar Talab, Sonbhadra Talab, Dhanesara Talab, Nadesar Talab and Gogabai Talab are being
encroached. In 2009-10, the district administration had prepared a status report of 72 ponds.
Besides, the Varanasi Municipal Corporation had also conducted a survey in 2007 to check the status of
ponds in the city.
According to the survey, there were 79 ponds and kunds in the records of VMC, out of which 25 had been
filled for some other use. However, 39 ponds are in other revenue records but missing from the records
of VMC.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Varanasi/Protecting-ponds-means-savingGanga/articleshow/37238039.cms
Canada offers to join efforts to clean up Ganga
NEW DELHI: Canada has offered to collaborate with the government on its ambitious project to clean up
the Ganga, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday.
"The Ganga action plan is not a mere river project for us but also a matter of faith for millions of Indians
and, therefore, it will be a valuable addition to the collaboration between India and Canada in the area of
water for health.
"It is bound to further promote India-Canada partnership at different levels," Singh said after a meeting
with Canadian high commissioner Stewart Beck, who had called on the minister.
Singh, the Union minister for science and technology and earth sciences, said that a joint S&T committee
would be formed by next year between the two countries with an aim to announce new programmes and
awards.
"The action plan is to collaborate in the areas of bio- technology, health, environment, energy, food
security, nano- technology ccience, communication and Industrial R&D," Singh said.
He added that efforts will be made to expedite the ongoing projects between the two countries on 'PETMRI automatic tumour detection and recognition', which will add another dimension to the non-invasive
detection of tumour using PET and MRI.
The two countries have applied for joint international patents which have been filed under a project at
the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Bio-technology, Delhi, to develop new potential
anti-malarial drugs.
Singh added that there was a need to connect the best academic and R&D institutions in the two
countries as that would be important for facilitating new knowledge creation through joint research and
exchange of personnel.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/environment/pollution/canada-offers-to-join-efforts-to-clean-upganga/articleshow/37203150.cms
Government preparing compact plan to rejuvenate Ganga and other rivers: Bharti
The Government is in the process of preparing a compact plan to rejuvenate river Ganga and the same
parameters will be implemented to clean-up other rivers in the country, said Union Water Resources
Minister, Uma Bharti, on Wednesday.
“River Ganga is a leader of other rivers like Narendra Modi is the leader of the nation. We will be
implementing the parameters adopted to rejuvenate Ganga for other rivers, as well. What was lacking
was a compact planning, which the Prime Minister has said it will be done. We are in the process of
preparing a compact plan. The secretaries are also working in this regard”, she said.
Bharti was speaking on the sidelines of a national conference on preserving rivers. Asked about her
perception about the new Government on the eve of completing 30 days, she said that the Prime
Minister, his council of ministers and all ministries were working in perfect coordination.
She also exudes confidence that people would give an overwhelming mandate in favour of BJP in 2019
also. “We have got the mandate in 2014. Similarly, we will also get better mandate in 2019″, she noted.
Earlier, addressing the gathering on the occasion, Bharti said, a meeting of technocrats, saints,
environmentalists and NGOs has been called on July 5 for consultations on Ganga Rejuvenation
Programme.
She further said that there was no paucity of funds for Ganga Rejuvenation Programme, while adding
that the private sector has also offered help in this task and collaborations from other countries will also
be considered.
The Water Resource Minister also clarified that her ministry was not opposed to power projects on rivers,
but at the same time it has to be ensured that main river is never dry during any point of the year.
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/government-preparing-compact-plan-to-rejuvenateganga-and-other-rivers/
Cleaning River Ganga Is Not A ‘One-time’ Operation
It is an irony that the river that has always been considered the holiest for the Hindus and whose banks
held the most profound form of knowledge is also one of the most polluted water bodies in India. River
Ganga is considered the ultimate cleanser of sins while her banks hold spiritual experiences for a
practising Hindu. At least, people do believe it to be so.
That is till they visit the river to get rid of their sins. But one look at the River Ganga is enough to
understand that we would better retain our sins within ourselves. If getting rid of our sins means courting
some serious skin diseases, keeping them might be a feasible solution. After all, we do commit sins now
and then, and cleansing them is going to cost a lot - physically, mentally and medically!
On a serious note, talks of cleaning the River Ganga are getting more serious and louder by the day. What
was started by the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, way back in 1985, has always remained in
debates and discussions, without any effective action plan in place.
But between then and now, much water has flown under the bridge and a huge amount of human debris
has been dumped, too. The half-burnt bodies float on the surface like they always did. But then, that's
the sacrifice the river has to make to keep her worshippers off the sins they have committed.
According to recent estimates by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), fecal coliform levels in
mainstream Ganga have shot up much above the acceptable levels since years. And the stretch of the
River Ganga that remains polluted is said to be well beyond 2,500 km. It starts from Gangotri where the
religious ceremonies take place and goes up to Diamond Harbour.
The highly oxygenated upper stretches are not spared from pollution either. It is a surprise that the river
has not dried up yet, as a result of such action. Places like Rudraprayag and Devprayag leave the river
increasingly polluted, thanks to the religious tourism and the mindless urban travellers always in a hurry
to cleanse themselves.
Ganga absorbs as much as 3,364 litres of sewage on a daily basis apart from the regular dumping of burnt
dead bodies, flowers from religious offerings and discarded clothes. Then there is a large amount of
plastic in various forms, dumped by tourism-promoting hotels and mindless travellers.
The Ganga Action Plan (GAP) has been receiving money for a long time, but the operations were not
sustainable enough to keep the river clean of pollutants.
The key here is not just cleaning the River Ganga. It is not a one-time operation or a permanent solution.
The government is simply pumping in more and more money into Ganga cleaning operations, but
environmentalists have been warning us throughout that it will not resolve the issues in the long run.
They say the operation has to be a mammoth exercise only in the beginning, with effective cleaning
practices being strictly imposed and followed in the subsequent phases.
The focus should be on a few key areas. Once we have enough water to carry out the operations, the
'need' is to filter the water from this point to dilute and assimilate waste from the water. Another stage
will be to implement sustainable methods of treating the waste that is currently being released into the
river. Making policy-level decisions to stop industries from releasing effluents into the river is of great
importance as the 'Clean Ganga' operations have to reach a level of participation from those who are
abusing it.
Although religious institutions make for a small yet considerable part of the groups that are polluting the
river, it has to receive a complete buy-in from all the parties concerned - the Ganga now needs their help
to stay clean.
After all, changing a few practices to save the Ganga (an integral part of the Hindu psyche) for future
generations is something that could go a long way in protecting the river and its tributaries. No matter
how significant our beliefs are, the cost of treating a water body, polluted with dangerous waste, is
simply much higher than maintaining the cleanliness. And the cleanliness can be maintained with
people's understanding and active participation.
In fact, simple economy would be enough to understand this. If rivers have enough clean water for
dilution, cities need to spend less on hardware and energy for water treatment. If this can be reduced
over a period of time, the assimilative capacity of the river for self-cleaning the waste will surely improve,
thus benefiting both humans and the nature.
Moreover, instead of expecting the upper riparian states to release more water (in the absence of watersharing agreements, as of now), states can become self-sustainable by building checkpoints to collect the
rainwater, to be used for river waste dilution. This can also increase the water table in the area.
Therefore, when the exercise of cleaning the Ganga is undertaken, it should also change the way we look
at the river. Until then, governments can keep pumping in money without the people taking any
responsibility for the project.
http://www.businessinsider.in/Cleaning-River-Ganga-Is-Not-A-One-timeOperation/articleshow/37071510.cms
Beware! Holy dip in Ganga may cause cancer
Young boys search for coins and lost gold ornaments in the polluted waters of the Ganga river at Sangam
in Allahabad after the Kumbh Mela festival (Photo: AFP)
Young boys search for coins and lost gold ornaments in the polluted waters of the Ganga river at Sangam
in Allahabad after the Kumbh Mela festival (Photo: AFP)
Hyderabad/New Delhi: A holy dip in river Ganga might cause cancer. However, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi had announced that cleaning Ganga was on top of his priority list but more is required to be done
than expected.
Times of India reported that the Department of Atomic Energy's National Centre for Compositional
Characterisation of Materials (NCCM) in Hyderabad had tested water samples from the river and it was
revealed that the river water contained carcinogens.
NCCM functions under the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. The centre had collected water samples
from the Ganga during Kumbha Mela in January 2013 and found that water collected by the disciples
contained Chromium 6.
"Chromium is essential as well as toxic. The toxic form of chromium is hexavalent chromium. We have
determined its content in the Ganga water collected during Kumbha Mela. It was 1 ng/ml, almost 50
times the permissible limit," NCCM head Dr Sunil Jai Kumar told the English daily.
Exposure to such high levels of chromium can be hazardous to health and can also cause cancer.
Ganges, the 2,500 km river stretching from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, is full of industrial
effluent and untreated sewage, its banks strewn with garbage.
Previous attempts to clean up the river, including introducing flesh-eating turtles to devour the charred
remains of the dead cremated on its banks, have failed due to a lack of planning or coordination.
The filth is said to have come from the Kanpur tanneries. Sunil Jai Kumar added, “We have to develop
technologies that can cleanse the Ganga of chemical impurities. It can be done.”
Prime Minister Modi has taken personal responsibility for restoring Maa Ganga, as part of a broader push
to husband India's scarce water resources and improve standards of public health and hygiene.
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/140625/nation-current-affairs/article/beware-holy-dip-ganga-canturn-hazardous-may-cause-cancer?page=2
Ganga tourism part of rejuvenation plan
NEW DELHI: River cruises, floating hotels, moving sound and light show and even apps to provide
information on religious ceremonies are all part of tourism ministry's proposal to rejuvenate the Ganga
river. The action plan-that merges old traditions with new technologies-aims to ensure sustainable
tourism along the river bank and is part of the ambitious Ganga rejuvenation plan.
One of the highlights of the Ganga river front is introducing river cruises and floating hotels on Ganga
between Haridwar and Hooghly by private sector. Sources said some the industry had already expressed
interest in starting short distance cruises like in Varanasi and Patna while the union tourism ministry had
received proposals regarding floating hotels. "The concept is new to India but it is essentially a cruise
where visitors can comfortably stay the night with modern facilities like bio-toilets to ensure
environment concerns are met," a source said.
To encourage international tourism, the ministry has also proposed using apps for smart phones and
tablets that would give information on religious ceremonies taking place on the banks of the river,
including cremation, bathing, hair-shedding, not only in Indian languages like Bengali, Hindi and Gujarati
but also in foreign languages. There is also provision for proper tourism reception centres at important
towns to provide pilgrims and tourists with assistance.
The ministry has also proposed introducing sound and light show at Haridwar, complete an existing
project at Rishikesh and are exploring the possibility of a laser show at Varanasi, Haridwar and Rishkesh
executed through ITDC but run by private sector. Sources said that there was thespian Aamir Raza
Hussain had proposed the concept of a sound and light show tracing the legends around the river. "We
are looking at a moving sound and light show that is groups of people being taken on a barge along the
ghats and narrating the history of each ghat through sound and light effects as the barge passes by," the
source said.
The ministry has also underlined the importance of creating toilets along the river front, improved
transport facilities, trained guides and registered bed and breakfast accommodation.
To tap the potential of "divine tourism" along the river the ministry has proposed tying up with renowned
institutions and matths to hold events promoting yoga and meditation especially along the upper reaches
of the Ganga.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Ganga-tourism-part-of-rejuvenationplan/articleshow/37164079.cms
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/ZTE6YFnLQm9Nhw5NaENGQJ/Outside-in--The-many-colours-of-theGanges.html
No dearth of funds for Ganga cleaning, Uma Bharati says
NEW DELHI: For Ganga cleaning, water resources minister, Uma Bharati said money would never come
on the way and that fund would flow on its own in the form of corporate donations and contributions
from various sections of the society "on her single call".
Addressing a conference on preserving rivers in India organized by PHD Chamber of Commerce, she said
Ganga will become leader for all other rivers in the country and the parameters to be followed to
rejuvenate the river will set benchmark for others.
Bharti said the government is in the process of preparing a compact plan. "What was lacking was a
compact planning, which the Prime Minister has said it will be done. We are in the process of preparing a
compact plan," she said.
She also said that a meeting of technocrats, saints, environmentalists and NGOs has been called on July 5
for consultations on Ganga Rejuvenation Programme. Another big involvement of public to become a
part of the campaign will be in October.
The minister also clarified that her ministry was not opposed to power projects on rivers, but at the same
time it has to be ensured that main river is never dry during any point of the year.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/No-dearth-of-funds-for-Ganga-cleaning-Uma-Bharatisays/articleshow/37219021.cms
Obstruction in flow of Ganga won't be allowed: Uma Bharti
HARIDWAR: Nothing will be allowed to obstruct the flow of the Ganga or dirty its sacred waters, Union
Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti today said.
"We will spare no effort to ensure that the river flows relentlessly. No construction along its banks or on
the course of the river will be allowed to obstruct its flow," Bharti told reporters here.
Not even water treated at a water treatment plant will be allowed to flow into the river and pollute its
sacred waters which she referred to as 'Brahma Dravya'.
She said an elaborate and effective plan is being prepared to clean the Ganga but it will be implemented
only after holding consultations with representatives of the state.
To a question she said the interest of Uttarakhand will not be allowed to suffer and numerous job
opportunities for locals will be created.
Asked to comment on Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati's controversial remarks on Sai
Baba, the Union Minister said the Shankaracharya was a like a father figure to her but she had faith in Sai
Baba who never claimed he was god.
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-06-28/news/50929600_1_ganga-water-treatmentplant-shankaracharya-swami-swaroopanand-saraswati
India to build thousands of riverside toilets to save the Holy Ganges
The Indian government has ordered officials to build toilets along the 1,500-mile-long banks of the River
Ganges to stop its people using it as a latrine.
Successive governments have pledged more than £2 billion to clean up the river, which is sacred to
Hindus but has become one of the most polluted in the world. But despite the promises human sewage,
industrial waste and dead animals have transformed it from pure melt water from Himalayan glaciers to
toxic effluent.
India’s new prime minister Narendra Modi marked his landslide election victory last month with a
devotional ceremony on the banks of the river at Varanasi, one of India’s holiest cities, and pledged to
revive it.
His new government’s water and sanitation ministry has now written to the heads of the five states
through which the river passes – Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal - to ask
them to build toilets and sanitation centres so the 450 million people who live close to it will not have to
relieve themselves in or near its waters, The Pioneer reported.
India has been described as the world’s centre for open defecation, with 600 million people lacking
access to a toilet. Cities and towns along the Ganges produce just under 3 billion litres of sewage per day
but only 1.2 billion litres are treated. Most of the waste drains into the Ganges.
“It is a gigantic task but not impossible to implement. Availability of loos will certainly create awareness
among the people and end open defecation in the country”, said Sadhvi Bhagawati of the Ganga Action
Parivar.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10909599/India-to-build-thousands-ofriverside-toilets-to-save-the-Holy-Ganges.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Centre-asks-UP-government-to-provide-toilets-in-villagesalong-Ganga/articleshow/36988665.cms
Rafting in Ganga stopped 12 days ahead of schedule
Unaware of the Tourism Development Council notice, several rafts were lowered into the river on
Thursday. (Source: Express Archive) Unaware of the Tourism Development Council notice, several rafts
were lowered into the river on Thursday. (Source: Express Archive)
With the Ganga and its tributaries in spate following heavy pre-monsoon rains in parts of Uttarakhand,
rafting in the river has been stopped 12 days ahead of schedule for safety reasons.
Heavy showers in the hills of Uttarakhand over the past few days and the melting glaciers due to
increasing heat have shot up the water level in the Ganga rendering rafting in the river at Rishikesh
unsafe, state Tourism Development Council sources said here on Friday.
The rains over the past couple of days have brought a lot of silt and boulders into the river which might
be risky for rafters, they said.
A notice ordering closure of rafting in the river was issued by the council on Thursday, they said.
Usually, rafting is stopped in the Ganga every year from June 30 to September one. Its closure this year
12 days in advance will make adventure tourists to wait till September to enjoy the sport.
Unaware of the Tourism Development Council notice, several rafts were lowered into the river on
Thursday for tourists but forest department personnel intervened immediately to have them withdrawn.
With the TDC notice ordering closure of rafting in the Ganga this season, about a 100-odd beach camps
put up at Kaudiyawala-Munikireti area in Rishikesh are being wound up now.
However, people associated with the trade said they had a satisfying rafting season this year after it was
marred last year by the natural calamity.
“After a low-key initial opening we had a brisk rafting season this year which picked up in the month of
May and June. A large number of tourists enjoyed rafting and camping along the banks of the Ganga this
year,” a raft operator said.
However, he said the administration had taken the right decision by stopping it 12 days ahead of
schedule for safety reasons.
The Ganga at Rishikesh was flowing at 338.1 metres on Thursday while the danger mark is at 340. 5
metres, Central Water Commission’s Rishikesh sector incharge Vinod Pal said.
However, the water level has receded marginally on Friday morning with the river flowing at 337.68
metres, he said.
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/rafting-in-ganga-stopped-12-days-ahead-ofschedule/
Modi likely to share views with stakeholders at 'Ganga Manthan'
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi may attend 'Ganga Manthan' - a congregation of religious
leaders, environmentalists, scientists, water conservationists, NGOs and elected representative - next
month to hear views of different stakeholders over his government's plan to rejuvenate the river.
A brain-child of water resources minister Uma Bharti, 'Ganga Manthan' is likely to take place here before
the commencement of the Parliament session early next month.
Sources said Bharti, who has been finalizing the plan of the congregation, would soon meet Modi with
her proposal and formally request him to attend a session during the brainstorming on Ganga.
"There are strong indications that the Prime Minister may attend one session during 'Ganga Manthan'
where he would speak his mind on his pet project," said an official.
Views and suggestions, expressed by the stakeholders during the brainstorming, will be shared with a
Committee of Secretaries (CoS) that has been working on a blueprint to develop the river. This group is
expected to submit its plan by mid-July.
"The idea of the 'Ganga Manthan' is to bring all concerned, including 'sadhus' and 'saints', on one
platform where they can exchange views and suggest ways and means to rejuvenate the river," Bharti
had said last week.
Announcing the plan to hold the deliberations, she had said though the programme would also include
discussions over Yamuna and other important rivers which need to be cleaned and developed on priority
basis.
Emphasizing that the river cannot remain clean unless every citizen cooperates, she had said her ministry
would approach the issue by making the Ganga rejuvenation plan a 'Jan Andolan' (people's movement).
The ministry will soon launch a website on Ganga, inviting suggestions from all over for cleaning the river.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Modi-likely-to-share-views-with-stakeholders-at-GangaManthan/articleshow/36922392.cms
Cleaning River Ganga Really Means Cleaning Its Tributaries
Since Narendra Modi decided to contest the recently-concluded 16th Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi,
cleaning up River Ganga has become one of his pet projects. Throughout the election campaigns in
Varanasi he promised to take action to ensure that the river is pollution-free. The new government has
been in power for about four weeks and Modi has already set the ball rolling. The plan is to transform the
river and its surroundings into a world-class tourism hub, set up a transport network connecting Varanasi
to Hoogly and other cities and towns along the river, and utilise the might of the river for power
generation.
On Friday, June 6, a meeting of an inter-ministerial group headed by Nitin Gadkari, Minister for
Transport, was held. This meeting was attended by Uma Bharti, Minister for Water Resources, River
Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Prakash Javadekar, Minister for Environment and Forest, and
Shripada Yasso Naik, Minister for Tourism. During this meeting the formation of an inter-ministerial
committee of secretaries was finalised. This committee has been given a month’s time to formulate a
roadmap that the government can use to turn its plans into reality. It is also likely to provide the
government with a feasibility report of sorts.
This sounds nice on paper, but does the new government truly understand the enormity of the task in
front of them. The state of the Ganga hasn’t deteriorated overnight; neither will it be restored to pristine
glory overnight. When Rajiv Gandhi launched the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) in 1985 it was more of a
novelty than a concerted attempt at improving the condition of the river that is the lifeline for large
sections of Indian population. Over the years the Central Ganga Authority (CGA), which was established
to oversee the implementation of the GAP, has morphed into the National River Conservation Authority
(NRCA), but little or no progress has been made on the GAP’s objectives. The NRCA was entrusted with
looking after the tributaries of the Ganga as well.
From its origin in Gangotri, Uttarakhand till the end of its journey in West Bengal, where it meets the Bay
of Bengal, the Ganga covers close to 2500 kilometers. Along the way untreated industrial waste, human
waste, and several other types of waste and chemicals are emptied into the river. And this is just the
proverbial tip of the iceberg. Sixty percent of the water flowing through the Ganga comes from its
tributaries. The majority of the waste and pollution choking the river also originates in its tributaries.
Herein lays the biggest challenge for new government. Cleaning up the Ganga also means cleaning up its
tributaries.
The Ganga has 13 major tributaries of various lengths and sizes. Four of these 13 (Damodar, Gomti,
Mahananda and Yamuna) are extremely polluting. Five (Atrai, Bhilangna, Bhuri Gandak, Ramganga and
Tamsa) are moderately polluting. The final four (Gandak, Ghaghara, Kosi and Son) are non-polluting.
Controlling the flow of pollutants from these tributaries will be the key to reducing the pollution-levels of
the Ganga.
Yamuna is by far the most polluting tributary of the Ganga. It originates from the Yamunotri glacier in
Uttarakhand and meets the Ganga at Sangam in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. The majority of Delhi’s
biological and chemical waste is emptied into the Yamuna. The coliform level at Okhla Barrage, on the
Yamuna, is over 30,000 MPN per 100 ml. Just to give you an idea of what that means; for water to be
considered drinkable or potable the coliform level should be below 50 MPN per 100 ml. The Yamuna also
brings with it an extremely toxic micro pollutant called perfluorinated compound. The Gomti originates
from the Gomat Taal in Philibhit, UP and meets the Ganga at Ghazipur, UP. Domestic sewage and
industrial effluents from the Lucknow area, Sultanpur, Jaunpur and several other towns are discharged
into the Gomti, which eventually enters the Ganga. This entire belt is home to several sugar factories and
distilleries.
The Damodar and the Mahananda are also responsible for adding to the increasing pollution-levels of the
Ganga. The Damodar meets the Ganga at Hoogly, West Bengal and is laden with industrial waste dumped
into it. The majority of the sewage from the Siliguri area is discharged into the Mahananda, which
subsequently flows into the Ganga. The severity of pollution caused by these four tributaries is
accentuated by the multiple barrages built on some of the other tributaries. The barrages on the Kosi
(Kosi Barrage), the Gandak (Gandak Barrage), and the Sharda (Tanakpur Sharda Barrage and Lower
Sharda Barrage), which leads into the Ghaghara, reduce the flow of the water and increase the level of
pollution in the Ganga. The Ghaghara is the largest tributary of the Ganga in terms of volume (16 percent
of total flow). The Gandak is reportedly fed by over a thousand glaciers and over 300 lakes, and is the
lifeline of the Ganga during the lean season. The Kosi is the third largest tributary of the Ganga.
Several effluent treatment plants (ETPs) along the course of the river are currently non-functional; the
others don’t operate at their optimal level because ETPs require a lot of electricity to function, which has
become a sort of a rare commodity in India off late. Ideally waste treatment should be carries out at the
source. However, in the complicated landscape of Indian industries that doesn’t seem a realistic option
either.
Achieving the impossible will be the challenge in front of the Modi government. The Ganga is not just
another river; it is an invaluable heritage of India. In a couple of weeks we will get to know what the
inter-ministerial committee believes is the right course of action. For now the ball is in their court.
http://www.theindianrepublic.com/tbp/cleaning-river-ganga-really-means-cleaning-tributaries100040576.html
The rejuvenation of the #Ganga: Old wine in a new bottle
In a historic address on the banks of the river Ganga in Varanasi, then PM designate Narendra Modi had
vowed to turn the holy river into a squeaky clean one before Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary
which falls five years down the line.
The river Ganga is revered in the Hindu culture. It was the most common metaphor in Hindi films during
the Eastman colour era when a poor father tried to prove that “uski beti ganga ki tarah pavitra hai” (Her
daughter is as pure as the Ganges). People swore by it, drank its water to free them of their sins and even
put ‘Gangajal’ (as the water of the river is known), into the mouth of a person on deathbed.
Unfortunately, the same holy, pure and sacred Ganges is in shambles today. Even the most hardcore
religious followers have to admit this. In the name of traditions and rituals, people have taken the river
for an extremely long ride, to a point that restoring its ‘Pavitrata’ has become a herculean task.
PM Narendra Modi has treated this ‘Ganga rejuvenation’ plan as his pet project. As a result of which, in a
first of its kind, a ministry for the same has been established in the central cabinet as well with Uma
Bharti at the helm. They also intend to set up a website for the people to pool in their suggestions for
cleaning the 2,500 km long river which runs its course from the Himalayas all the way into Bangladesh.
The late Rajiv Gandhi had set up the first Ganga Action Plan in the year 1985. Since then, closed to Rs.
40,000 Crores have been spent on various actions pertaining to cleaning of the river. But the levels of
pollution of the river have gone from bad to worse. It is the same water in which people bathe their
cattle, immerse the ashes of their loved ones, bathe themselves, urinate, defecate and even drink the
same water considering it to be the holy one! The oil from the ‘diyas’, that are released into the river
waters, make matters worse for the marine life beneath it.
The cleaning of India’s longest river cannot be the prerogative of the government or the ministry alone. It
is also the people who have made the river a source to propagate their agenda who have to make a
significant contribution in this noble cause.
With so much of dirt around, it is time that stringent laws need to be made. If the PM wants to take
tough decisions for the economy, let him take a few for his baby as well. Banning washing of clothes,
animals and bathing in the river could be implemented. Some of you may not like this but then if you
really wish to see the river clean, this is perhaps the biggest step that has to be taken at a micro level. Let
there be only specific spots which are not highly habituated by marine population used for the immersion
of ashes. A strict punishment should also be imposed for those who try to break this law.
The government also plans to develop a waterway through the holy river linking major centres like
Varanasi and Kolkata. This can only be possible if the river is back at its cleanest best or else people would
rather prefer to fly to their destination rather than wading through water full of filth and garbage.
No matter how many governments spend whatsoever amounts of money to clean the Ganga, it is for the
people, who emphatically took a vow with Modi on the 16th of May to clean their river to put their words
into action. Let the people bring ‘acche din’ for the river, and the holy water shall reciprocate to their
efforts as well!
http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/standpoint-the-rejuvenation-of-the-ganga-old-wine-in-a-new-bottle1997038
Thames hit squad jumps to clean up Ganges
Expertise that brought London’s waterway back to life is to tackle the horrors of India’s holy river
THE environmental experts who cleaned up the Thames in London could soon be helping India’s new
government with one of its most ambitious projects: purging the country’s sacred rivers of decades of
accumulated toxic pollution and waste.
Almost 3bn litres of sewage is discharged every day into the Ganges alone. This means that India’s holiest
river, which flows for 1,600 miles from the Himalayas into the Bay of Bengal, had the dubious honour of
being named one of the world’s five most polluted rivers in 2007.
About 800 tons of ashes from the 33,000 Hindu pilgrims who choose to be cremated on the banks of the
river every year add to its ecological woes. More than 3,000 floating bodies and some 300 tons of halfburnt human flesh from funeral pyres add to one of the world’s five most polluted rivers in 2007.
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/world_news/Asia/article1425285.ece?CMP=OTH-gnwsstandard-2014_06_22
4 ministries to work together for cleaning the Ganges
New Delhi, Jun 9: As part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mission to clean up the Ganges, four
ministries would work hand in hand to cleanse the polluted holy river and make it a hub of spiritual
tourism.
Announcing this at a press conference here today after a meeting of the ministries, Minister of Water
Resources Uma Bharti said a meeting comprising four ministers from Surface Transport, Shipping,
Tourism and Water Resources was convened today for the purpose.
"We will be incorporating ideas as and when required.
Ganga is on our top priority. It is not that we are not prioritising other rivers but we will have to create a
model first which can be replicated elsewhere," Bharti said.
The meeting, presided by Union Minister for Surface Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari, was
attended also by ministers for Environment, she added.
Bharti said the Centre and the Prime Minister were giving tremendous importance for Ganga and other
rivers as had been assured during his election campaign.
Gadkari said a committee, comprising the Secretaries of the four ministries set up for the purpose, would
evaluate the entire Ganga cleaning project.
"To undertake dredging activities of up to 45 metres from Varanasi to Hoogly, the Ministry of
Environment and Forest will evaluate the ecological impact of the proposal and will give us the report,"
he said.
"We have started technical evaluation of barrages that we intend to set up at a distance of every 100 km
and use it for connectivity. It will also be utilised for goods and passenger transportation," he added.
http://www.igovernment.in/igov/news/40208/ministries-cleaning-ganges
Filthy truth: 30 years of Ganga inaction plan
Money for nothing, filth for free. That, in a nutshell, is the state of Ganges, India's northern lifeline that
passes through five states. The last three decades have seen an allocation of over Rs 20,000 crore
through the two phases of Ganga Action Plan (GAP I & II) to clean up the river. Yet, a clean Ganga remains
elusive, as pollutants of all varieties keep choking the holy river.
Behind the statistics of money allocated for cleaning up the Ganga, what remains hidden is the bleak
reality of the paltry amounts actually spent and the little work that has been done. For about 30 yearsGAP was conceived in 1985-hardly Rs 967.30 crore has been spent in the two phases.
According to informed sources in the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), "It's a
misconception that thousands of crores have been spent to clean the river. In fact, only Rs 967.30 crore
was spent in the two GAPs over the last 30 years, which means a paltry Rs 30 crore per year."
Even the target to create infrastructure has not been met with. "It is just about 30 per cent of the target
that has been put in place. Against the target of a total sewage treatment capacity of nearly 3,000 million
litres a day (MLD), we have been able to achieve only 1098.31 MLD so far," the source said.
Mail Today accessed the official records which offer the real figures as to how much has been spent to
clean up the river. According to these records, in the first phase of GAP, "nearly Rs 461 crore was spent
on 260 schemes that were completed to treat about 869 mld of sewage entering the river at different
points in five states. In GAP-II, 264 schemes were completed at a cost of Rs 505 crore and sewage
treatment capacity of 229 mld has been created, which is just about 1/3rd of the target of 3,000 MLD."
Apathy
No particular government or political party can be blamed, however, for the lackadaisical approach, say
top government officials. "The sluggishness in the efforts to clean up the river cuts across political
spectrum which gets compounded by the bureaucratic red tape, involving five member states," says the
source.
It seems, the apathy and ignorance about the river cleaning starts from the top, including prime
ministers. Government sources confirmed to Mail Today that not a single meeting of the prime ministerheaded National River Conservation Authority (NRCA) has been held in the last 10 years. The NRCA was
constituted in 1995 and its last meeting was held under former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in
2003. "The United Progressive Alliance under former PM Manmohan Singh is to blame. It is mandated
that NRCA would meet at least once a year..it only resulted in a complete collapse of the vision and policy
from the top itself," said a senior government official on condition of anonymity.
Not only has NRCA failed to meet, but even the steering committee of NRCA hasn't got together since
2007. Headed by the MoEF secretary, the steering committee is mandated to monitor the allocation of
funds and progress of sanctioned schemes. The steering committee is supposed to meet every quarter
with five river basin member states-Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
Moreover, the National Ganga River Basin Authority constituted in 2009, and comprising of the prime
minister as chairman and five member states, met thrice but no concrete decision was taken, says a top
government source.
While the new government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it clear that Ganga clean-up
will be one of the top priorities, many within the ministry seem to be a bit sceptical. One such informed
source in the ministry said, "Perhaps it has not struck many in the ministry under new minister Uma
Bharti that Ganga actually flows through five states where the Bharatiya Janata Party or the National
Democratic Alliance is not in power. BJP or any NDA partners are not in power or supporting the state
governments in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Bihar could have been an
exception a year back, but not now. So, there is little hope that the new frenzy over cleaning the Ganga
would actually see some real action.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/ganga-clean-up-narendra-modi-uma-bharti-rs-20000-crore-wasted-in30-years/1/366252.html
Cleaning the Ganga, step by step
Traversing over 2,500 km, from the Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas to the Sunderbans delta in
Bangladesh, the Ganga is used by hundreds of millions of people. This is one of the few river basins in
India that is rich in water resources but highly polluted. How did one of the world’s mightiest rivers end
up as a garbage dump?
Myriad issues
Issues affecting the river are myriad and complex. Untreated sewage and industrial waste are dumped
into the waters without remorse. Reduced flow and rampant underground water withdrawals affect
millions of people who depend on the river’s water. Further, floods and droughts, which endanger lives
and cause serious damage to crops, livestock and infrastructure, are a common phenomenon in the river
basin. A changing climate will pose more challenges. The combination of glacial retreat, decreasing ice
mass, early snowmelt and increased winter stream flow will add to the pressure. There is now clear
evidence that climate change is already affecting the Himalayan ice cover. This will have a profound
impact on the river.
However, all is not lost yet. Recent initiatives by the Indian government such as including ‘River
Development’ and ‘Ganga Rejuvenation’ to the portfolio of the Minister of Water Resources, and the
establishment of the National Ganga River Basin Authority and the National Mission for Clean Ganga,
show a commitment to address some of these pressing concerns with special attention given to pollution
control.
Even though the task of cleaning the Ganga is a daunting one, significant strides can be made toward
achieving this.
Basin-scale management
The Ganges is a complex transboundary basin which flows across different jurisdictions. Therefore, a
basin-scale approach would help manage the water resources better. This would require close
coordination with all the countries sharing the Ganga, such as Nepal and Bangladesh, so that the interests
of both upstream and downstream users are taken into consideration. The existing treaties on “sharing
water resources” could be renegotiated as “shared management of water resources.”
Second, the Ganga is highly polluted. Yet, of the 400 million people living along the banks of the river,
many still rely on its natural systems for their livelihoods. According to a World Bank report, a number of
government efforts (Ganga Action Plan: Phases I and II) have attempted to address the pollution
problem, but the results have been disappointing so far. It is estimated that sewage constitutes the
largest portion (80 per cent) of the pollution load followed by pollution caused by industrial discharge
agricultural activities. With agricultural activities intensifying in areas near the river, particularly in urban
and peri-urban areas, farmers frequently rely on waste water for irrigation. This poses a serious public
health risk. However, this adversity can be turned into an opportunity as urban waste offers a significant
nutrient resource for farming, if safely treated and applied. Low cost, simple ecological sanitation and
reuse systems will be keys to making waste water treatment feasible for agricultural purposes.
Environmental flows
Third, environmental flows are essentially the water requirements of aquatic ecosystems and of basic
human, social and spiritual needs. However, the concept of environmental flow only refers to the the
quantity of water required to maintain river ecology under different environmental conditions.
Deteriorating water quality in the Ganga — due to domestic, industrial and agricultural effluents — is also
a major threat to riverine ecosystems and to people whose livelihoods depend on water. Innovative
methods for maintaining environmental flows and the quality of water during environmentally critical
periods, along with procedures for implementing these methods, need to be investigated.
In cities, towns and industrial estates most vulnerable to flooding in the Ganges river basin, major
investments are required to address climate variability. Existing flood forecasts are often too technical
and not easy for the public to understand. Application of remote sensing and hydrological modelling has
helped in developing high-quality flood maps, which are useful for developing plans for river
conservation, maintaining the quality of water in different stretches and, more importantly, reducing the
vulnerabilities of the affected communities.
Innovative approaches such as underground taming of floods for irrigation and aquifer management
could offer solutions to the flood problem. These approaches essentially involve storing floodwaters in
underground structures in upstream areas. This will help prevent floods and help maintain water
availability even during dry seasons.
Toward a common goal
In addition to the steps taken by the government to clean the Ganga, successful implementation of this
task would require partnerships with various stakeholders. Multiple agencies working to address the
problem could be brought on board. The private sector has also shown its willingness to be a partner in
cleaning the river, especially at critical points such as Varanasi. Similarly, the public at large, along with
civil society groups, also need to be actively engaged in these efforts.
In recent times, the clamour for a cleaner Ganga has gained momentum. Although huge progress is being
made, the need of the hour is to widen our focus. Negotiations on economic revitalisation of the Ganga
should involve India, Nepal and Bangladesh. This task in itself is of mammoth proportions. However, by
taking small steps, we can still reduce the pollution load and restore the river to the people.
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/cleaning-the-ganga-step-by-step/article6105068.ece
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/environment/developmental-issues/centre-to-hold-gangamanthan-before-finalizing-its-river-rejuvenation-blueprint/articleshow/36447346.cms
'Spitting, throwing waste in Ganga river could be punishable offence'
New Delhi: Throwing waste in Ganga river is likely to be made a punishable offence and can land you
behind bars.
According to a proposed law which needs the approval of Union Water Resource Ministry, spitting,
throwing garbage, polythene or waster in the holy river will be a punishable offence, as per news reports.
The central government is also planning to build 25,000 km inland waterways.
Cleaning of the holy river was one of the main agenda of Modi's campaign during Lok Sabha elections.
Those found guilty can reportedly be imprisoned for up to three years or fined for up to Rs 10,000.
Soon after Modi's swearing in ceremony, a separate ministry was created to focus on cleanliness of the
holy river.
The ministry is being headed by Uma Bharti who is an MP from Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/spitting-throwing-waste-in-ganga-river-could-be-punishableoffence_938464.html
Ascetics to advise on Modi's Ganges river cleanup
New Delhi: The government will seek the advice of ascetics on how best to carry out an ambitious plan by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clean up the Ganges.
Ganges, the 2,500 km river stretching from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, is full of industrial
effluent and untreated sewage, its banks strewn with garbage.
Previous attempts to clean up the river, including introducing flesh-eating turtles to devour the charred
remains of the dead cremated on its banks, have failed due to a lack of planning or coordination.
Modi, elected last month to represent the 3,000-year-old riverside city of Varanasi, has taken personal
responsibility for restoring Maa Ganga, as part of a broader push to husband India's scarce water
resources and improve standards of public health and hygiene.
Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party swept to power on his campaign promises to boost economic development
in the world's largest democracy. The 63-year-old leader has also stressed Hindu values that he believes
have been undermined by modern secularism.
"We will make cleaning up Ganga a people's movement, in keeping with the vision of the prime minister,"
Uma Bharti, minister for water resources, river development and Ganges rejuvenation in Modi's cabinet,
told reporters on Thursday.
Consultations would be held with non-governmental groups, sadhus living near the river, "priests carrying
out various rituals around it", scientists and politicians, she said.
"We are seeking the help of everybody. We are looking for a huge mass movement," added Bharti.
She promised to come up with detailed proposals in a month and a half for the project, dubbed "Ganga
Manthan". In the Hindi lexicon, manthan signifies a deep contemplation and churning of facts that leads
to enlightenment.
A day after his election victory last month Modi travelled to Varanasi to observe a fire ritual in honour of
the sacred river.
"Now it is time to do my bit for Maa Ganga," he said in a speech from one of the ghats where riverside
ceremonies are held: "Maa Ganga is waiting for her son to free her from pollution."
He vowed to clean up India, starting with Varanasi, widely considered Hinduism's holiest city, topin time
for the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's birth in 2019.
Environmental experts have expressed cautious hope that a basin-wide approach advocated by Modi,
involving northern states and neighbouring Nepal and Bangladesh, would help address issues like
reduced meltwater flows into the river caused by the progressive retreat of Himalayan glaciers.
Bharti, 55, dismissed media reports that the government would ban spitting in the Ganges as an "attempt
to belittle our serious initiative".
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/140613/nation-current-affairs/article/ascetics-advise-modis-gangesriver-cleanup
Orphaned Ganga Stands Still Within Bureaucratic Walls
NEW DELHI: River Ganga has hit the bureaucratic boulders. Even before its cleaning drive could gather
momentum, the polluted river is stalled between and orphaned by ministries. Though openly hailed as
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project, the river and work related to its cleaning is stuck in the
transfer procedures as the Cabinet Secretariat is yet to issue a notification for the shifting of work from
the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), which so far has been the nodal ministry for Ganga
cleaning, to the Ministry of Water Resources.
The NDA government has created a separate ministry for Ganga Rejuvenation under union Cabinet
Minister Uma Bharti for cleaning the Ganga, but officially nothing has moved on the ground. As per the
water ministry officials, the Cabinet Secretariat is required to issue a notification stating ‘Amendment of
Allocation of Business Rule’. It will officially notify the Ministry of Water Resources as the nodal ministry
for Ganga Cleaning. As of now, the MoEF formally continues to be the nodal ministry for the rivercleaning. All work on the cleaning of the river has come to a standstill with the officials in the ministries
waiting for the issuance of official notification.
Interestingly, the government has created a Committee of Secretaries (CoS) under the Ministry of Water
Resources secretary Alok Rawat that comprises of secretaries from the ministries of Tourism, Shipping
and environment as members. The CoS has been given the mandate to come out with a detailed
cleaning, beautification, shipping and tourism plan for the Ganga within a month’s time starting June 6.
All the four ministers would meet up regularly to overlook the draft plan, which will be kept before the
Cabinet for final clearance.
The officials at the Ministry of Water Resources say that they are awaiting the transfer of files related to
all projects and schemes on the Ganges from the MoEF. “We cannot start the work as we don’t have any
files. The files are yet to come from the MoEF. The files won’t come until the Cabinet Secretariat issues a
notification making Ganga-cleaning a subject matter of the Ministry of Water Resources. Allocation of
business needs to be done before we initiate work on it,” said a senior official of the Ministry of Water
Resources.
The official informed that the secretary cannot initiate the work. A Commissioner has to be appointed to
do the groundwork and coordinate with other ministries for preparing a plan for Ganga Cleaning. “You
cannot expect the secretary to be preparing all the plans for the Ganga. It has to be done by a
commissioner-level officer. The appointment or allotment of work to any official cannot be done against
a pending notification,” the official added.
Union Minister for Water Resources Uma Bharti denied commenting on the issue despite repeated
requests to explain the reasons behind the delay in issuance of notification. The officials handling the
Ganga cleaning in the MoEF are not able to do any work for now. They have to work under a separate
ministry. Their job would depend on the preferences and priority of the new ministry.
MoEF has been implementing the Ganga Action Plan (GAP I and II) since late 1980s. It also houses the
National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), which was constituted under the chairman ship of former
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The authority met only three times since 2009 and three of its
members including Magsaysay award winner Rajendra Singh quit citing the PM’s complete lack of
interest.
The central governments have so far spent over `40,000 crore for cleaning the river. But all the money
has gone down the drain, literally. The Ganga Action Plan phase I (GAP-I) started in 1985 at a cost of `500
crore. GAP-II was launched in 1993 at `2285 crore. It has failed to clean the river. The Parliamentary
Standing Committee on Environment and Forests has flayed the MoEF for the deteriorating water quality
in the river. A whopping `39,000 crore have been spent since the Eighth Plan (1992-97) on the GAP-II
alone.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/Orphaned-Ganga-Stands-Still-WithinBureaucratic-Walls/2014/06/15/article2280972.ece
Ganga clean-up a Himalayan task: The challenges facing Modi's mission to improve India's most
polluted river
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced his plans to clean up the Ganga — India’s holiest river and
also one of its most polluted — but his mission is not going to be easy.
Massive inflows of sewage and industrial effluents into the river are sure to make its clean-up one of the
most complicated tasks taken up by environmental authorities.
Fifty cities located along the more than 2,500-km river discharge 2,723.3 million litres a day (MLD) of
wastewater into it, according to the latest assessment report of the Central Pollution Control Board
(CPCB).
Massive inflow of sewage and industrial effluents makes the river's clean-up one of the most complicated
missions. Fifty cities located along the more than 2,500-km river discharge 2,723.3 million litres a day of
wastewater into it
Massive inflow of sewage and industrial effluents makes the river's clean-up one of the most complicated
missions. Fifty cities located along the more than 2,500-km river discharge 2,723.3 million litres a day of
wastewater into it
On the other hand, existing treatment systems can handle only 44 per cent (or 1208.8 MLD) of the
wastewater.
“The assessment of sewage generation and development of treatment capacities indicate a gap of 1,515
MLD, which should be reduced to improve water quality of river Ganges,” says the report that is yet to be
released by the Environment Ministry.
The situation is further complicated by 138 drains that discharge thousands of litres of wastewater into
the Ganga and the critical condition of two of its tributaries, Ramganga and Kali.
A senior CPCB scientist, who was part of the team that conducted the study, said: “The Ganga needs a
holistic cleaning-up and conservation.
Delhi authorities ordered to clean up city water body after residents claim it has become a 'landfill site'
"Any piecemeal measure will not yield anything. Any effort to clean up a particular stretch along a town
like Varanasi will entail cleaning up of the entire river system upstream, right from its origin at
Gaumukh.”
Of the 50 cities along the Ganga, 36 classified as “class I towns” generate 2,601.3 MLD of wastewater, but
have the capacity to treat only 46 per cent or 1,192.4 MLD waste.
Fourteen “class II towns” produce another 122 MLD of wastewater and can treat only 13 per cent or 16.4
MLD of wastewater.
Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh produces the highest volume of sewage at 339.3 MLD, followed by Allahabad at
208 MLD and Varanasi at 187.1 MLD.
These three highly polluting towns have capacities to treat only 171.1, 89 and 141 MLD of sewage,
respectively.
Patna in Bihar generates 249.2 MLD of waste and has the capacity to treat only 109 MLD.
"Any piecemeal measure will not yield anything. Any effort to clean up a particular stretch along a town
like Varanasi will entail cleaning up of the entire river system upstream, right from its origin at
Gaumukh," said a senior Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) scientist
"Any piecemeal measure will not yield anything. Any effort to clean up a particular stretch along a town
like Varanasi will entail cleaning up of the entire river system upstream, right from its origin at
Gaumukh," said a senior Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) scientist
Kolkata is the highest producer of municipal sewage in West Bengal at 618.4 MLD, but has the capacity to
treat a mere 27 per cent of the waste at 172 MLD.
Of the 51 treatment plants inspected by the CPCB in the Ganga catchment, West Bengal fares most
poorly.
The state has 34 plants with an installed capacity of 457 MLD, but they are able to treat only 214 MLD of
sewage, while 13 plants are not even functional.
The crisis is compounded further by 138 drains identified by the CPCB that discharge 6,087 MLD of
industrial and domestic wastewater into the Ganga.
West Bengal is the biggest polluter in this regard, with 54 drains in the state emptying into the river,
carrying 1,779 MLD of wastewater.
Much of the Ganga’s miseries are accounted for by the critically polluted Ramganga and Kali, the two
major tributaries of the river that merge with it near Kannauj.
The 596-km Ramganga carries a huge volume of industrial waste from paper mills at Kashipur and sewage
from Moradabad while the 500-km Kali carries tremendous industrial discharges from slaughterhouses in
Meerut and distilleries and paper units as it moves through Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Modi Nagar, Hapur,
Bulandshahr, Gulaothi and Kannauj.
‘Brahmaputra and Ganga to get more water’
Despite the retreating of glaciers in Himalayas, water supply in rivers like Ganga, Brahmaputra and Indus
will increase in the coming decades, a new study said.
The study was conducted jointly by research organisation FutureWater, Netherlands’ Utrecht University
and the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development.
“Our results show that the river flow will increase at least until 2050, despite retreating glaciers,”
researcher Arthur Lutz said in a statement on Monday.
The retreating Himalayan glaciers will generate increasing amounts of melt-water in the coming decades
due to rising temperatures
The retreating Himalayan glaciers will generate increasing amounts of melt-water in the coming decades
due to rising temperatures
“The glaciers feeding Indus river, although retreating, will generate increasing amounts of melt-water in
the coming decades due to higher temperatures.
"For the other rivers, the increase in river flow is mainly caused by increasing precipitation,” the
researchers said.
Glacier and snowmelt contribute water to 10 important river basins originating from the Himalayas and
in the Tibetan plateau serving over 1.3 billion people.
The group of scientists assessed the importance of meltwater for Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra, Salween
and Mekong rivers and discovered how climate change will alter river flow in the coming decades.
The findings of the study will be important in shaping climate change adaptation policy in the 12 riparian
countries surrounding these river basins.
Co-researcher Walter Immerzeel said, “These results confirm on a larger scale what we already
discovered last year for two small watersheds in the Indus and Ganga basins.”
The scientists emphasise that their projections are only until 2050.
Scenarios for the distant future, or until the end of the century, remain uncertain, in particular for Indus
river where meltwater is most important.
Cleaning of Ganga: PM Narendra Modi declared his commitment to the issue during his Ganga aarti
The cleaning of Ganga is a priority item on the agenda of PM Narendra Modi,who declared his
commitment to the issue during his Ganga aarti on May 17 after winning the Lok Sabha elections.
“When I see the pitiable condition of the Ganga, I feel pained, but I feel it is Maa Ganga who has decided I
have to do something for her.
"The need of the hour is to restore the glory of the Ganga. Today Maa Ganga is calling us, her children to
make the river clean once again,” Modi had said.
The PM’s commitment to cleaning the holy river is reflected by the appointment of Uma Bharti as
Minister for Water Resources and renaming the ministry as Ministry of Water Resources, River
Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
Bharti,who launched a Ganga Samagra Yatra in Sept. 2012, travelled across the length of the river in five
states and has also demanded national heritage status for the river.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2646549/Ganga-clean-Himalayan-task-Thechallenges-facing-Modis-mission-improve-Indias-polluted-river.html
Ghat’s the way: Cities along Ganga to get Rs 1.75-lakh-crore makeover
Around 100 cities are expected to be taken up for renewal in the fresh plan.Around 100 cities are
expected to be taken up for renewal in the fresh plan.
The ministry of urban development is preparing a blueprint for a fresh urban renewal scheme...
The ministry of urban development is preparing a blueprint for a fresh urban renewal scheme that will
focus on the renewal of prominent cities and towns along the Ganges.
The new scheme, which will replace UPA's Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), is
expected to have an outlay of around Rs 1.75 lakh crore to be spent over a period of 10 years.
To ensure that there's better coordination between different ministries, the ministry will prepare an
integrated plan in collaboration with the tourism and Ganga rejuvenation ministries to develop cities like
Agra, Varanasi and several others into world-class tourism circuits. Around 100 cities are expected to be
taken up for renewal in the fresh plan.
“What we are planning to needs support from the tourism and the river development ministries. The
urban renewal scheme can't be run in isolation. The new urban renewal scheme will be one of the most
ambitious schemes of the NDA government,” a senior UD ministry official said.
According to sources, the spending on procuring intercity and feeder buses will also be increased to give
push to commercial automobile industry. It's expected that the Centre will be giving funds to state
governments for the procurement of over 15,000 buses.
The ministry is preparing a Cabinet note, which after the approval from UD minister Venkaiah Naidu, will
be presented before the Cabinet after getting comments from related ministries. The new mission won't
be state-specific like its previous version where every state was given projects. This time the states would
be given the grants for the project on first-come-first-served basis. The government is also including
development of waterways, including grants for procuring boats and setting up of ropeways in hilly areas.
The proposed outlay is more than double the amount the government had sanctioned for the flagship
scheme from 2005 to 2012 that focused on planned development in cities, sanctioning projects related to
urban transport, water supply and sewage, among others.
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/ghats-the-way-cities-along-ganga-to-get-rs-1.75lakhcroremakeover/1257024
Dolphins first to gain from project Ganga
NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister has already promised a new lease of life for River Ganges, and the first
ones to benefit could be its dolphin population, declared endangered by International Union for
Conservation of Nature in 2010.
Three States - UP, West Bengal and Bihar - along with the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) will
launch the first-ever national census of the Platanista Gangetica in the Ganges and its tributaries in
October-November this year. Environment ministry officials say this would be the first such national
census that will factor in not just the river but also its tributaries spread across these states.
The Ganges dolphin also known as Soons is found in three r iver systems - Brahmaputra and Meghna are
the others - and is one among the four species of freshwater dolphins in the world.
"This is the first time we are doing a composite survey covering the whole of the Ganga. We are working
on logistical details such as manpower and boats," said BA Khan, principal conservator of forests,
Government of Bihar. He said the counting of dolphins had been on for many years now but it has always
been restricted to main river while a few organisations carry out separate surveys in some of the
tributaries.
Officials involved in the project said nearly 18 NGOs that include eight local NGOs who work with
fishermen will help in carrying out the survey that will follow IUCN guidelines.
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-06-04/news/50330054_1_dolphin-populationfreshwater-dolphins-platanista-gangetica
India's struggle to free Ganga of pollution– a flowing mess!
For centuries, Ganga is considered as the holiest of the holy rivers, serving as a gateway for souls to
escape the cycle of rebirth and attain salvation.
Jawaharlal Nehru had remarked, “The Ganges, above all, is the river of India which has held India`s heart
captive and drawn uncounted millions to her banks since the dawn of history. The story of the Ganges,
from her source to the sea, from old times to new, is the story of India`s civilisation and culture…”
But, today, the grim reality is that the sacred river is more like a flowing mess. The river is being ignored.
Despite efforts and huge investments, pollution levels in the Ganga and Yamuna continue to increase
unabated. It is one of the most contaminated rivers in the country, and one of the ten most threatened
river basins in the world.
The major reasons touted are as follows:
Environmental hazards:
Untreated industrial effluent and municipal sewage have taken a toll on the river. Every day, 1.7 billion
litres of effluents run into the river - most of it untreated. The major reasons for this are the point
sources of pollution- the sewer outfalls, open drains discharging domestic sewerage and industrial
pollution along the entire length of the Ganga.
According to studies by Uttarakhand Environment Conservation and Pollution Control Board, the level of
Coliform bacteria in Ganga at Haridwar has reached 5500, which is over 100 times the permissible level.
This is caused by the disposal of human feces, urine and sewage directly into the river right from its origin
in Gaumukh, till it reaches Haridwar via Rishikesh.
Man made constructions:
Another threat that the river is facing is excessive water extraction, dams and embankments that have
rendered the river dry in several areas. Further on, due to the accumulation of silt, the water carrying
capacity of the river has reduced and it has adversely affected the floodplains which have been either
eliminated or greatly cut down.
Religious factors:
Hindu faith upholds the belief that the holy water of River Ganga will cause forgiveness of sins will help to
attain salvation. That`s why people dispose religious offerings, idols and dead bodies in the river which
further increases pollution.
During the pilgrimage season around 15 lakh pilgrims pay a visit to the holy river in Haridwar, Varanasi
and Allahabad, during which community bathing and social and religious practices disrupt its life. The
community bathing adversely degrades the water quality and the temporary camps built around the river
produce large quantity of human excreta (about 250 tons/day on normal days and about 10,800 tons/day
on main bathing days) which is dumped into the sand to be washed away during rainy season.
Ganga clean up-action plans:
Various steps have been taken to protect and restore the Ganga. In 1986, The Ganga Action Plan was
launched by the Government of India which proved to be a failure despite a heavy expenditure. On
November 1, 2010, the 135 km long stretch between Gaumukh and Uttarkashi was declared an ecosensitive zone. Three hydro projects proposed on the river were also discontinued.
Finally, on June 28, 2011, an agreement with the World Bank was signed for a $1 billion loan that would
finance the first major effort after 20 years to clean the river. This loan is part of the project started in
2009 that replaced the 1986 Ganga Action Plan.
And now that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to rejuvenate the Ganges on priority basis,
let us hope that the river revered as the source of life, is finally cleaned up of its mess.
http://zeenews.india.com/exclusive/india-s-struggle-to-free-ganga-of-pollution%E2%80%93-a-flowingmess_7012.html
Israel, Denmark keen to partner in Ganga cleanup, water management
Narendra Modi wave sweeps SandalwoodNarendra Modi praises Pawan KalyanAnupam Kher meets
Narendra ModiPawan to meet Narendra Modi?Narendra Modi visits Manmohan Singh
NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi's pet Ganga cleanup programme and his mission for clean water has
attracted interest from foreign nations. Israel and Denmark, global leaders in water technology and water
management, say they can be part of this particular national mission.
Israeli ambassador Alon Ushpiz told TOI, "Think about the purification of the holy Ganges. I have a list of
200 Israeli companies that can do this." Already, a consortium of Danish water companies are operating
in Gujarat, even conducting a pilot project for water management in Rajkot, Danish ambassador Freddy
Svane said.
"If you go from Gujarat down to Tamil Nadu and up to Hyderabad, you will come across more than two
dozen Israeli desalination plants. Some huge, others not so big. There are places in some cities where you
probably will drink water from Israeli desalination plants, joint projects with state governments. This is
good water, very good water. The plants are exactly the same as on the shores of the Mediterranean,"
Ushpiz said.
Svane said Copenhagen harbour was a perfect case study of implementation of new technologies for
water management. Danish companies can undertake impact studies, cleaning up of water and even
provide enzymatic solutions to reduce waste water in quantity and quality.
Ushpiz said, "Israel loses just about 8% of what we put in the pipes, the best figure in the world. Indian
figures are higher. The beauty of water management is that you simply enlarge your water collection by
saving water. I come from a society that has put water on a pedestal. It's not only a commodity, it's a
cultural value."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Israel-Denmark-keen-to-partner-in-Ganga-cleanup-watermanagement/articleshow/36119037.cms
Varanasi to Kolkata by Ship?
Think of a cruise holiday from Varanasi to Kolkata. Plan is underway to develop Ganga as a major
waterway for transport and tourism and for this government decided to make the river stretch between
Varanasi and Hooghly navigable by boats .
Waterway will be made between Varanasi and Hooghly on river Ganga in the first stage of its
development to enable transport of passengers and goods. This will decrease transport on roads
It will pass through the historic towns of Bihar such as Bhagalpur, Munger, Patna and Buxar.After starting
from Varanasi, it will halt at Sarnath and then at Patna, from where it will sail through Munger, Farakka,
Kushbagh, Plassey, Kalna, Chandernagore, and finally stop in Kolkata.
This new plan will cost Rs 6,000 crore.The waterway plan will eventually be extended till Allahabad,
covering a 1,600km stretch of the river.
While the Ministry of Tourism will work towards promotion of the heritage site for promotion of tourism,
Gadkari saidthe Human Resources Development Ministry will work towardssetting up a research institute
on the subject.
Gadkari said waste water from industries in Kanpur and Allahabad will be recycled and waste water from
elsewhere will also be treated.
The major banks of Ganga will be beautified and11 multi-purpose terminals will be constructed.
As part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mission to clean up the Ganges, four ministries would work
hand in hand to cleanse the polluted holy river and make it a hub of spiritual tourism.
Announcing this at a press conference here today after a meeting of the ministries, Minister of Water
Resources Uma Bharti said a meeting comprising four ministers from Surface Transport, Shipping,
Tourism and Water Resources was convened today for the purpose.
"We will be incorporating ideas as and when required. Ganga is on our top priority. It is not that we are
not prioritising other rivers but we will have to create a model first which can be replicated elsewhere,"
Bharti said.
The meeting, presided by Union Minister for Surface Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari, was
attended also by ministers for Environment, she added.
http://www.saharasamay.com/nation-news/676554601/varanasi-to-kolkata-by-ship-.html
Existence of Ganga in danger, says environment scientist Prof B D Tripathi
The existence of Ganga is in danger and the pollution of the river is a secondary issue, a renowned
environment scientist has said and urged the NDA government to launch a “Save Ganga” programme.
B D Tripathi, an expert member of National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), also requested the
Narendra Modi government to make active the Prime Minister-chaired body saying it was virtually nonexistent during the UPA rule. “My observation on the basis of my research for the past four decades is
that the problem of pollution is secondary and the main problem now is the existence of Ganga. It is in
danger,” Tripathi told PTI.
“The mission should be called Save Ganga not Clean Ganga,” he said.
According to him, Ganga is facing a problem of what he termed as ‘triple three’. “They are reduced water
flow, reduced water carrying capacity and reduced water quality that is pollution,” he said.
Blaming the “indifferent attitude” of the previous government for the failure of the Ganga Action Plan,
Tripathi said that considering the Modi government’s seriousness on Mission Ganga, NGRBA should be
made functional now.
“Being an expert member of NGRBA, I have raised this issue several times but the previous government
had an indifferent attitude towards this cause that resulted in failure of various projects so far.
“There have been only three meetings of NGRBA in the past four years. Now since Narendra Modi
himself has mission Clean Ganga on his priority list, so it is high time to make NGRBA functional,” he said.
Tripathi, also a coordinator for Centre for Environmental Science and Technology at the Banaras Hindu
University, has been associated with the cause since 1972. The Centre has given Ganga the status of
national river and constituted NGRBA in February 2009. The objective of the authority is to ensure
effective abatement of pollution and conservation of Ganga by adopting a river basin approach for
comprehensive planning and management.
“Government has declared Ganga as a national river but till now there is no policy or planning made in
this regard. Ganga flows through five states (Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and West
Bengal) and they exploit it in their way,” Tripathi said.
“Centre gives 85 per cent of funds and rest 15 per cent is contributed by states but there has been no
monitoring at any level. After five years, you come to know about the failure of the plan but who is
accountable for that,” he asked.
He maintained that the Centre should see the problem in its entirety. “Almost Rs 1500 crore were spent
on GAP 1 and projects amounting to Rs 20,000 crore are still running. Government must fix accountability
and there should be monitoring after every three months. Monitoring committee should consist of
technical experts,” he said.
Suggesting long term measures to address these problems, he said that there should be a complete ban
on construction of big dams at the source of its streams and usage of alternative power generating
methods is must.
“Eight streams of Ganga originate from Gangotri glacier but the main ones are Bhagirathi, Mandakini and
Alaknanda. All the proposed dams near the source should be cancelled. They can construct small dams,”
he said.
According to Tripathi, the whole Uttarakhand region is low pressure zone where the wind velocity is very
high so electricity can be generated through windmills like Europe. “As far as the reduction of ground
water level is concerned, rainwater harvesting should be implemented strictly,” he suggested.
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/existence-of-ganga-in-danger-says-environmentscientist-prof-b-d-tripathi/
May 2014
Narendra Modi vows to clean up pollution in India
Overlooking the muddy waters of the Ganges, the ancient Hindu pilgrimage city of Varanasi has long
been a symbol of India’s spiritual devotion in the midst of poverty and squalor.
Semi-naked worshippers stand in prayer in its sludgy but sacred river, splashing themselves with water
polluted by raw sewage, industrial waste and the ashes of the dead, washed out from funeral pyres.
Cows maraud through its narrow lanes, horns blare in traffic jams, and buffaloes, wild pigs and street
dogs feast on rubbish piled high on the pavements.
But when Narendra Modi, leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, is sworn in as prime
minister on Monday he will kick-start what he promises will be the city’s renaissance - a transformation
from tourist nightmare into a pristine citadel of Indian culture, civilization and enterprise.
Mr Modi swept to a landslide victory with a campaign that ended a decade of Congress-led government
and made him the first Indian leader to win a clear, single party majority in 30 years. While some regard
him as authoritarian and fear his Hindu nationalism, he has promised to use his strong leadership style to
speed development, promote economic growth, and to root out corruption.
With his own parliamentary seat in Varanasi, he has made the city’s revival one of his top priorities,
pledging to clean the river, clear the streets, and instil a new sense of civic pride. He wants it to show the
way for India’s often dirty cities to become clean by 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma
Gandhi.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10855190/Narendra-Modi-vows-to-clean-uppollution-in-India.html
Modi introduces new ministry of ‘Ganga Rejuvenation’
Uma Bharti, who will be governing the Ministries of Water Resources and River Development as a
Cabinet Minister, will also look after the Ganga Rejuvenation Ministry.
Ganges aka Ganga is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through India and Bangladesh. The 2,525
km river rises in the western Himalayas in Uttarakhand and flows south and east through the Gangetic
Plain of North India into Bangladesh. It is the third largest river by discharge.
The Ganga, which is the largest river in the country, provides water to 40 percent of India’s population in
11 states, an estimated of 500 million people or more, which is larger than any other river in the world.
Today, it is considered to be sixth most polluted river in the world.
Many plans have been brought into action to rejuvenate river Ganga. The Ganga Action Plan or GAP was
a program launched in April 1986 while National River Ganga Basin Authority (NRGBA) plan was
introduced in 2009, but it seems that these plans have not been able to accomplish the desired goals.
The Supreme Court has been working on the closure and relocation of many of the industrial plants like
tulsi along the Ganges and in 2010 the government declared the stretch of river between Gaumukh and
Uttarkashi an "eco-sensitive zone".
http://post.jagran.com/modi-introduces-new-ministry-of-ganga-rejuvenation-1401173085
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2014/05/29/36551
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/asia/article4106083.ece
CAN MODI CLEAN UP INDIA’S HOLIEST AND DIRTIEST RIVER?
Americans hate carpetbaggers. Hillary Clinton moves to New York; Scott Brown scoots across the state
line to New Hampshire; Liz Cheney pretends to be from Wyoming. Uproar ensues.
In India, by contrast, the concept of carpetbagging doesn’t exist. On the contrary, for a smart politician
like Narendra Modi, it can make a great deal of sense as a campaign strategy. Candidates can run
wherever they choose, and Modi, who took office on Monday as India’s new Prime Minister, managed
the unusual feat of being elected in two different constituencies. One was Vadodara, in his home state of
Gujarat. For the other, he chose Varanasi, the holiest city in Hinduism. And, while his campaign stuck for
the most part to sweeping generalities about prosperity and good governance, essentially vowing to
replicate nationwide his success as chief minister of Gujarat, Modi did make one concrete, actionable
promise: to clean up the grossly polluted Ganges, the most sacred stretch of which flows past the
temples and cremation grounds of Varanasi.
The holy city and the sacred river. The man has a brilliant grasp of political symbolism.
Before his ascent in the right-wing, Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, the young Modi’s political
ideas were formed by the B.J.P.’s parent organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), whose
founding fathers were admirers of European fascism. Charges that Modi acquiesced in the slaughter of
more than a thousand Muslims in Gujarat in 2002 trail after him like a tin can tied to a dog’s hind leg. Yet
these things seemed to bother foreign journalists more than they bothered Indian voters (with the
notable exception, of course, of the country’s hundred and fifty million Muslims). Generally, the more
unsavory aspects of Modi’s background and beliefs were drowned out by a disciplined campaign message
of growth, jobs, and strong leadership. That message was tailored to resonate across all sectors of
society, and it worked, stunningly.
Modi came late to Varanasi, announcing his candidacy in late March and filing the paperwork just two
weeks before the city voted on May 12. (Given the mind-boggling logistics of getting half a billion people
to the polls, Indian elections are staggered over a five-week period.) By then, everyone knew that Modi
was going to win. The only question was by how much, and some of his most fervent supporters even
saw the ultimate prize as being within his grasp—an absolute parliamentary majority, which no Indian
leader has managed since Rajiv Gandhi’s landslide victory in the wake of his mother’s assassination, thirty
years ago. So turnout became the key. Young Indians and the urban middle classes had already made up
their minds. Now Modi turned up the volume on his populist appeal to the Hindu faithful and lower-caste
voters who related to his own humble background as the son of a tea seller.
Varanasi is the fifth-largest city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. U.P., as it’s known, plays a
disproportionate role in Indian politics. It was the birthplace of Jawaharlal Nehru, and it has been home
to eight of the country’s fourteen Prime Ministers since independence. It’s also India’s most important
state, in terms of its sheer size. U.P. has two hundred million people—roughly equal to the population of
Brazil, but squeezed into an area thirty times smaller—and they’re some of the poorest people in India.
U.P. is also notorious for corruption, and it has a particularly awful history of communal and religious
violence. It was here, in 1992, that mobs spurred on by the B.J.P. and militant Hindu groups demolished a
mosque in the town of Ayodhya, which some claimed had been built on the birthplace of the god Rama.
Two thousand people died in the riots that followed. U.P. is also the heartland of caste politics, one of a
handful of states where the support of powerful caste-based parties has been vital to the cumbersome
coalitions that have defined Indian government for the past thirty years. So if Modi wanted an unfettered
mandate, he had to sweep U.P.
His opponent in Varanasi was Arvind Kejriwal, the upstart anti-corruption campaigner who shocked the
country when he was elected last year as chief minister of Delhi, only to flame out after forty-nine days in
office. I happened to be in Varanasi at the end of March, when Kejriwal came to town to declare his
candidacy. His inaugural rally was held—pointedly, I thought—in a large, dusty park in a heavily Muslim
neighborhood. Tens of thousands showed up, many in white shalwar kameez and wearing the white knit
kufi, the Muslim prayer cap. Kejriwal’s campaign slogan for Varanasi was “River, Weaver, Sewer”—
“weaver” being the important code word, because the city’s sari-weaving industry is the economic
mainstay of its Muslim minority.
Modi seemed to take it for granted from the outset that the Muslim vote was lost. He rarely spoke of
them or to them, and never made the symbolic gesture of donning a kufi. But he went after Kejriwal in
language that was anything but coded. As Kejriwal was speaking in Varanasi, Modi was holding his own
rally in Punjab, close to the border with Pakistan. He started off by denouncing the AK-47 as the symbol
of Islamic terrorism in disputed Kashmir. Then came his little joke: Kejriwal should be called “AK-49,” a
play on his initials and the number of days he held office in Delhi. This was droll enough, I suppose, as far
as it went. But in case anyone had missed his meaning, Modi spelled it out: Kejriwal was an “agent of
Pakistan and enemy of India.” To anyone familiar with the violent history of the subcontinent since
Partition, it’s hard to think of a more incendiary insult or a darker implied threat.
Modi hammered Kejriwal in the end, winning Varanasi by thirty-six percentage points. And he got his
landslide in Uttar Pradesh, taking seventy-one of the state’s eighty parliamentary seats and wiping out
the powerful caste-based Bahujan Samaj Party.
Last Saturday, Modi returned to Varanasi, and to the banks of the Ganges, to give thanks for his victory.
Plunging into the labyrinthine back alleys of the old city, he visited the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, the
“golden temple,” perhaps the most important shrine in all of Hinduism, and sprinkled Ganges water on
the lingam of Lord Shiva. From there to the ghats, the steep steps that line the river, where pious Hindus
yearn to be cremated in order to achieve moksha, liberation from the unending cycle of death and
reincarnation. To the blowing of conch shells and the chanting of Vedic hymns, Modi joined in the Ganga
Aarti, the nightly worship of the river. The Ganges is the river that cleanses all sins, and Modi reiterated
his promise to cleanse the river in return, and “to begin cleansing India from Varanasi.”
Modi’s pledge to cleanse the Ganges isn’t just about metaphor, or religion, or stripping off the mask to
reveal the dark side of his Hindu nationalism. It goes to the very heart of his appeal. Nothing sums up the
failures of government in India better than the despoiling of the Ganges. Rajiv Gandhi vowed almost
thirty years ago to clean it up. Since then, hundreds of millions of dollars have been squandered on his
Ganga Action Plan, with no discernible results. Some of the most noxious chemical effluent in the world
still flows into the Ganges from the tanneries of Kanpur, two hundred miles upstream from Varanasi,
because there are no effective treatment plants. Raw sewage still pours into the river because pumping
stations are regularly shut down by power cuts. Fecal coliform bacteria levels along the ghats of Varanasi,
where pilgrims take their “holy dip,” are off the charts.
Not all of this can be blamed on the ineptitude and corruption of the central government. State
authorities like those in U.P. share the blame. India’s ruling coalitions bog down in large part because
they depend on the support of these often rotten and incompetent regional fiefdoms. And state
governments have the primary responsibility for things like sewage-treatment plants. The real
significance of Modi’s landslide is that he can rule without any of these restraints, which is, in any case,
his temperamental preference. His clean-up-the-Ganges campaign, then, becomes a kind of litmus test
for his vision of efficient, if authoritarian, government. That’s what he claims to have accomplished in
Gujarat, and it’s what voters now demand and expect of him.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2014/05/can-modi-clean-up-indias-holiest-anddirtiest-river.html
http://www.eco-business.com/news/indias-new-leader-channels-gandhi-clean-mother-ganga/
Tortoise sanctuary may hamper Ganga waterway project in Kashi
VARANASI: How the project of turning the Ganga into a waterway, which is the top agenda of new
transport & highways and shipping minister Nitin Gadkari, will be executed as drudging is not possible in
the river in Varanasi due the presence of tortoise sanctuary.
Setting up his top three agendas after taking charge of the ministry, Gadkari had declared that his
department, in coordination with ministries of water resources, urban development, forest and
environment, industry, tourism and power, was exploring the possibility of a waterway on GangotriKanpur-Allahabad-Kolkata route for cargo and passenger movement.
But the presence of tortoise sanctuary in a 7 km stretch of the Ganga between Ramnagar Fort and
Malviya Bridge could prove a hurdle in executing the plans of the newly formed NDA government at the
Centre. This stretch of Ganga was declared Tortoise Sanctuary on December 21, 1989 under the Ganga
Action Plan launched in 1986. The Wild Life (Conservation) Act 1972 restricts sand mining or any other
activity that violates its norm in the sanctuary area.
Though the local administration is making efforts to shift the sanctuary beyond the city limit, it is still in
nascent stage. District magistrate Pranjal Yadav, who initiated an exercise on river mapping and shifting
the sanctuary, met the chief minister recently with the progress report. The DM admitted that it is still in
initial stage. According to sources, the work done by the district administration would be first examined
by the chief wildlife warden. Before reaching the Central Empowered Committee appointed by the
Supreme Court, it would have to pass through the State Wildlife Advisory Board and National Wildlife
Board.
To begin the exercise, the DM had formed a committee comprising engineers and officials of different
departments like Central Water Commission, PWD, irrigation, Varanasi Municipal Corporation, Varanasi
Development Authority and forest, the committee also comprises experts from civil engineering
department of Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University.
The increasing height of sand bed on the opposite bank of the river also started threatening the
riverfront that has an unbroken chain of magnificent ghats. It causes increasing depth of river on the
Ghat side and erosion under the stone steps of sprawling ghats that poses a serious threat to historic
buildings. River scientist UK Choudhary warned that a major portion of riverfront in Manikarnika Ghat
area would cave in if no remedial measure is taken urgently. The pressure on the ghats could be ease by
removing the sand deposited along the opposite bank.
But, according to forest officials, the shifting of tortoise sanctuary is not possible in the present
framework. A tortoise-breeding centre was also created in Sarnath and so far over 35,000 tortoises were
reared and released into the Ganga.
But, it is also a fact that all types of prohibited activities could be seen in the protected zone like
motorized boat operation, cattle washing, discharge of sewage and linen washing along the ghats.
An ambitious project of UP Tourism, cruising in Ganga between Varanasi and Allahabad could not be
materialized due to the sanctuary. A luxury vessel was arranged for ferrying between Varanasi and
Allahabad and other tourist destinations like Vindhyachal, Mirzapur and Chunar but the project was
dropped in 2003 because of the objection of the forest department. The first tourist cruise from Haldia
(West Bengal) was not allowed to move further in October 2009 and was stopped at Khidkiya ghat as the
motor-operated boats could not operate in this stretch as per environment law.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/Tortoise-sanctuary-may-hamper-Ganga-waterwayproject-in-Kashi/articleshow/35880808.cms
‘Sabarmati riverfront project can’t be replicated on Ganga’
Expressing his reservations on the idea of replicating Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati River Front Development
Project on the Ganga in Varanasi, a former director of World Bank and also a former Ahmedabad
Municipal Commissioner, Keshav Varma, who was in the city on Friday, said Ganga would have to be
cleaned up before such a project is taken up.
Varma was one of the founder members of the Sabarmati project and continues to be part of the Special
Purpose Vehicle — Sabarmati River Front Development Corporation Ltd (SRFDCL), which is executing the
project. Varma, a 1976-batch IAS officer from Gujarat cadre, recently retired as Sector Director for East
Asia Pacific Urban, after a 16-year stint in the World Bank.
With the ongoing debate on whether it is feasible to replicate the project, which is among PM Narendra
Modi’s pet projects, Varma told The Indian Express, “The Sabarmati River Front Development Project
cannot be replicated in Varanasi. There is a huge urban problem there, just like it was on Huangpu River
in China. It is a well-known fact that cleaning is a major issue in Ganga, with heaps of garbage and bodies
floating in it…We need to create a sense of discipline among the residents there.”
Elaborating on his point, he said, “Riverfront and river basin are two different aspects. Ganga is more
about its heritage and culture of ghats. Meanwhile, the riverfront is a commercially viable project and it
does not require money to be poured into it. However, once developed, it should generate revenue
through land development and land use.”
Sabarmati, unlike the Ganga, is not a perennial river. It divides Ahmedabad into two parts, culturally and
historically, given that most parts of the original district, founded by Sultan Ahmed Shah, are on its east
bank.
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/sabarmati-riverfront-project-cant-be-replicated-onganga/
Zee Media launches ''Gangajal..My Pride'' to save River Ganga
New Delhi: Ganga is not just a river for us, it is a symbol of our civilisation, our cultural supremacy and a
lifeline for millions of Indians who take pride in their association with the holy river. In our country,
Ganga is revered like a mother and its water is considered as nectar.
Ganga and its holy water finds association with every Indian from his birth till death. In the Hindu
mythology, it is believed that salvation can't be attained without the holy waters of Ganga and that's why
there is a tradition of keeping it in every household.
Despite its cultural and spiritual significance, our sheer negligence has turned Ganga's pure, clean and
life-giving water into poison. Growing industrial pollution and excessive urbanisation have endangered
the existence of this holy river.
In 1985, the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi launched the “Ganga Action Plan” with an aim to clean the
river. In the past 29 years, despite spending over Rs 40,000 crores, there has been no change in its
situation and the level of pollution continues to grow up.
As per scientific estimates, the river and its holy water will become extinct in the next 30 years if situation
remains so. And, if it happens, this would mean the end of our culture, our civilisation. Would you allow
this to happen?
With an aim to save Ganga, Zee Media – the country's largest network – has launched the country's most
ambitious mission to save the holy river called – Gangajal..My Pride. With this, we have begun a
revolution to save every single drop of this holy river from Gangotri to Ganga Sagar. If you also want to be
a part of this mission, give us a missed call on – 09540285000.
You can also send us your valuable suggestions and share pictures of your association with Ganga on
[email protected].
http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/zee-media-launches-gangajal-my-pride-to-save-riverganga_933520.html
MoEF picks up Ganga cause
PM-elect Narendra Modi is yet to take Oath of Office but the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)
has already started making efforts to bring his promises to fruition.
The National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), functioning under the MoEF, has called a meeting of
its members to review the status of projects undertaken so far for the cleaning of Ganga river in Varanasi.
The meeting will be held in New Delhi on Friday, three days before Modi takes the oath as Prime
Minister. NGRBA Mission Director R R Mishra will head the meeting, which will also be attended by Dr B
D Tripathi, Coordinator, Centre for Environmental Science and Technology, BHU, Varanasi.
“The meeting has been called to discuss the progress of projects under Mission Clean Ganga of NGRBA.
Along with the works done so far, the draft plan of other projects will also be discussed,” Dr Tripathi said.
Sources said the NGRBA expects that its to-be ex-officio chairperson (Modi) will soon hold a meeting with
it.
Even after spending nearly Rs 100 crore under the Mission that comprised laying sewer lines in Varanasi,
the results have not been promising, largely because of the nearly 200 million litres per day (MLD)
discharge of untreated sewage into the river, which, explains Dr Tripathi, is due to not having enough
sewage treatment plants (STPs). The city generates a total of 300 million litres of sewage every day with
only one STP (of a capacity of 102 MLD) to treat it.
The results could have been better had there been a better “coordination” between the Ministry of
Urban Development (which has its own mission — Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission —
working towards the cause) and the MoEF, he said.
NGRBA, formed in 2009 under the chairmanship of outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Chief
Ministers of five states — UP, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and West Bengal — being its other
members. has only held three meetings in the last five years, the latest being on April 17, 2012.
The UPA government had taken Kanpur, Allahabad and Varanasi on priority as the river is most polluted
in these cities. It has already approved a Rs 496-crore project for Varanasi and another Rs 305-crore
project for Allahabad. A 140-MLD STP was also approved for Varanasi.
An UP Jal Nigam official said work on two STPs of 120 MLD and 102 MLD is under progress with another
(of 37 MLD) being proposed by the Sankat Mochan Foundation.
http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/moef-picks-up-ganga-cause/
'Gangajal..My Pride': Till how long the holy river will suffer?
Rishikesh: Beautiful River Ganges, clean water and lush greenery strike the mind as soon as one recalls
the place called Rishikesh. Lakhs of tourists visit the city in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand every year to
enjoy the tranquil surroundings. However, the memories of Rishikesh are not the same now.
The holy river, Ganga, is like a flowing mess. The tourists who visit Rishikesh for rafting, however, believe
that the great river can be cleaned up.
While it is said that Ganga is becoming dirtier in cities because it cleans the industrial mess, in Rishikesh,
the river is unclean as it is used for entertainment means.
There are 150 rafting camps in Rishikesh. All are registered with Uttarakhand Tourism as well as the
Forest Department. Since the camps are operated in rural areas, they do not come under the scrutiny of
Municipal Corporation. The place hosts around two lakh tourists every weekend. Since there is no
garbage management and disposal mechanism in place, it is up to the camp organisers to take care of the
same. The common method used to dispose off garbage is to burn it.
The rafting stretch from Shivpuri till Laxman Jhula of Rishikesh is the longest in the country. Tourists from
across the world visit the place every year.
The holy river is also being ignored by those who earn their bread and butter from it. Not just tourists but
also those who earn millions of rupees by organising rafting camps are least bothered about Ganga.
Albeit the organisers give rafting training to tourists, yet, in the absence of any guideline, fail to give any
instruction on how to keep Ganga clean.
Despite these mala fides, Ganga stays mum, never complaints; it just flows calmly. However, the question
rises till when the holy river will suffer?
http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/gangajal-my-pride-till-how-long-the-holy-river-willsuffer_934500.html
Ganga finds a powerful new ‘putra’
NO one has sent me to Varanasi, nor is it my decision. I have been summoned by Mother Ganga.”
Expectations soared every time Narendra Modi uttered these words in the din of the election campaign,
promising hope for the Ganga gasping for life.
While sceptics question if it was really Ganga or some numerological or astrological reasons that brought
Modi to Varanasi — Vadodra, Varanasi, Vadnagar (his birthplace in Gujarat), all begin with a ‘V’ — his
choosing the temple town for his constituency is the best thing to happen to the holy river in a long time.
Modi’s message as it was in Hindi, “Mujhe na kisi ne bheja hai, na mein yahaan aaya hoon, Mujhe toh Ma
Ganga ne bulaya hai,” has now become a statement of hope for all those who thought the environmental
mess in the river had become an irretrievable situation.
The bid for Varanasi may have been guided by the political strategy of striking it big in Poorvanchal, but
Modi’s victory declaration on Dashashwamedh Ghat — that cleaning up the Ganga and its urban environs
was his topmost priority — gave rise to a new optimism.
Magsaysay award winner ‘Waterman’ Rajendra Singh says: “From Maa the Ganga has become a maila
dhone wali maalgadi, a sewer.”
It was in the early 1930s when the then Commissioner of Varanasi, Hawkins, ordered the draining of
sewage water into the Ganga.
Rajendra Singh, who was a member of outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s high-profile National
Ganga River Basin Authority (NGBRA), calls Modi’s “Ganga beckoning” a sign of “good days” for the
Ganga. “Modi called himself Maa Ganga ka beta (son of Mother Ganga). Maa Ganga is ill, very ill and I
don’t think a son would leave any stone unturned to find the best treatment for his mother,” he says.
Manoj Mishra, convener of the Ganga Jiye Abhiyaan, is also optimistic. “For the first time there has been
a commitment from the highest possible level of governance,” he says.
OFF THE RADAR
This is not the first time commitment has come from the highest authority. Manmohan Singh had set up
the NGBRA and declared the Ganga a national river.
The difference, says Mishra, is that “Narendra Modi’s commitment appears to be his personal choice,
whereas Manmohan Singh seemed to have done it under external pressure.”
Rajendra Singh says the reason for his resigning from the NGBRA three months after the Uttarakhand
flood disaster was that “Manmohan Singh did not have the Ganga on his mind anymore”.
Responsible for the well-being of Ganga, the silence of the NGBRA — a financing, planning,
implementing, monitoring and coordinating authority for the Ganga — after the 2013 tragedy proved its
futility.
Notably, experts had attributed the disaster to the fury of rivers devastated by ill-planned hydel projects,
roads and tourism infrastructure.
Though the NGBRA’s mission included safeguarding the Ganga’s drainage basin, protecting it from
pollution or overuse, Rajendra Singh says the high-powered group, of which he continues to be a
member, was a “mere lip service” to the cause of the holy river. “It has met only thrice since its
conception on February 20, 2009,” he says.
MANIFESTO FOR CLEAN-UP
The BJP manifesto has categorised cleanliness, purity and uninterrupted flow in the Ganga as a priority. It
has also promised “a massive Clean Rivers Programme” across the country, driven by people's
participation.
“The Ganga is a symbol of faith in India, and has a special place in the Indian psyche. It is Mukti Dayini. It
is also Jivan Dayini for the parts of the country it flows in. People and cattle depend on it for agriculture,
fodder and drinking water. Pure waters of the Ganga are thus essential for the spiritual as well as physical
well being of India. Unfortunately, however, even after decades of Independence, the Ganga continues to
be polluted and is drying,” the BJP manifesto points out.
Though largely speculation, there is also talk of how the new government will plan better water
management with a focused Rivers Ministry, fast-tracking programme for interlinking of rivers and
bringing water on the concurrent list.
Voicing a word of caution, though, experts call the river interlinking proposal environmentally disastrous.
Launched with much fanfare by Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2002, it was pushed to the back-burner by a wary
UPA in the wake of ecological and feasibility concerns.
“It is not clear what the new government is planning to do. But if it takes up river linking and also river
cleaning, as media reports suggest, the plan could be a non-starter. Rivers are basically a domain of the
states and they will not tolerate any interference from the Centre. Moreover, rivers are affected by
functioning of many ministries,” Thakkar says.
“Diverting one river’s waters into another river to revive it (like in the Sabarmati) is no solution,” Mishra
warns too.
WHY EFFORTS FAILED
Experts say the main reason why past efforts like the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) and NGBRA failed was that
the planners botched-up in understanding what a river is. “What we really need to understand is what
went wrong with the Ganga over the years. Why did our attempts at tackling the issue ever since 1974,
when we brought in the Water Pollution Act, fail,” Thakkar says.
Explaining what is a clean river, Mishra says a river has to be first brought back to life. “A clean river is not
necessarily a restored river, but a restored river can be a clean river,” he says. A river has many essentials
— ecological flow, floodplains, biodiversity and seasonal variation.
Mishra says Rs 20,000 crore (the amount said to have been spent on cleaning the Ganga so far) went
down the drain because planners never bothered to understand the peculiar problems of the Ganga and
its several tributaries.
Merely setting up sewerage treatment plants (STPs) is not the complete answer. Even these were not
sufficient in numbers or capacity to treat the billions of litres of waste poured out by the cities along the
Ganga. This remedial measure addressed only one aspect, that too half-heartedly.
“We forget that each river is an individual entity, with different problems that need to be looked into
with separate plans of action,” Mishra says.
Singh agrees: Rivers are living, breathing and life-giving, with individualistic and diverse bio-diversity and
gene pools. Therefore, the first attempt towards rejuvenating the Ganga has to begin with understanding
it.
The three main sources of pollution of the Ganga and its tributaries are urban, industrial and agriculture.
Besides, religion is also worsening the situation by encouraging people to add pollution to the river rather
than teaching them how to take care of it, Thakkar adds.
In addition to the waste generated by the millions of people living on its banks, often drained into the
river almost untreated, are the large amounts of chemicals from polluting industries and the fertiliser and
pesticide run-offs from adjoining fields.
The reduction in flow because of water being drawn for irrigation and urban needs also leads to greater
concentration of pollution in the water. To add to this is the relatively unknown threat from climate
change.
“The GAP and NGBRA did not fail because of lack of finances, infrastructure, technology or water flow but
because of their governance. Until we understand this and reverse the governance failure by giving the
people a decisive role in the management of the river, there can be no hope for the Ganga,” Thakkar
says. Most of Ganga’s tributaries are also in bad shape.
Thakkar says upstream of Uttarkashi, Bhagirathi is “relatively” in a better condition but downstream it
stops flowing, submerged by dams and hydropower projects or bypassed by the tunnels for run-of-theriver hydro projects. Similar is the fate of other tributaries. “Among the five ‘prayags’, Vishnuprayag
stands destroyed by the Vishnuprayag hydropower project. Other prayags will also be destroyed if the
planned hydropower projects come up,” he says.
In the plains, increasing biological and chemical pollution and dwindling freshwater flow, particularly in
non-monsoon months, is aggravating the pollution load. “Forty years after the passage of the Water
Pollution Act and creation of the ‘pollution bureaucracy’ under the CPCB and SPCBs, there is not a single
example where the government can claim that a river has been cleaned up anywhere.”
WAY FORWARD
Now that the political will seems to be there, action has to follow to ensure the Ganga and its tributaries
can be revived, not just at Varanasi but upstream at Devprayag, Haridwar and Kanpur also and
downstream till it reaches the Bay of Bengal.
“The GAP failed because the project-oriented plan failed to acknowledge the Ganga in its entirety, as a
living and breathing entity,” Rajendra Singh says. His solution is legislation to govern the Ganga. Major
rivers worldwide have legislations governing them and there is no reason why the Ganga should not have
one.
“If Ganga has to be saved, the only way forward is ensuring an Act to give it a national level status and
protection. It should be accorded the highest respect by enacting a Ganga Conservation Act. We had
drafted a National River Gangaji (Conservation and Management) Act, 2012, and sent to then
Environment Minister Jayanti Natarajan,” Rajendra Singh says, but nothing came of it.
The Act is required to ensure that whosoever abuses the Ganga, industries or municipal corporations, is
held accountable. “It is required to ensure that not even a drop of untreated sewage gets into the Ganga;
no more dams are built to stall its flow; and its land is not encroached upon.”
COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT
Anil Joshi, a Dehradun-based environmentalist, says that to save the Ganga planners must never forget
two principles: “Consumers must be equal contributors” and “equal participation with accountability”.
“More than 40 crore people are dependent on the Ganga. If you want to save it then ensure their equal
participation. The majority of pollution comes from industries. Their owners may be big people but the
system should ensure their accountability,” he says.
As the Ganga is not one river, but a group of rivers, any plan should include all its tributaries and their
catchment areas as well.
The Aravari in Rajasthan and Kali Bein in Punjab are two good examples of participatory management.
“Until we set up participatory governance for various aspects of its management, there is no hope for the
Ganga,” Joshi adds.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Experts say whatever are the estimates of money already spent on the Ganga — Rs 2,000 crore or Rs
20,000 crore — henceforth it should be about learning from the past mistakes.
The new Prime Minister may be able to get more money from the Word Bank and corporate, but the
Ganga will only benefit if people are involved, accountability is fixed and those responsible for defiling it
are punished. Any revival action needs to be supplemented with strict laws and regulations fixing
responsibility for every action and non-action.
Some experts also fear that Modi’s fondness for corporates may end up doing more harm to the Ganga
than good. Involving corporates in the Ganga clean-up may not be a good idea, they warn. The Ganga is a
people’s river.
Tracing the holy flow
Devprayag: Originating from the Gangotri glaciers 14,000 feet above sea level, the Bhagirathi joins the
Alakhnanda to form the Ganga at Devprayag.
Tributaries: From Devprayag to the Bay of Bengal and the Sunderbans delta, the river and its tributaries
— Yamuna, Ghagar, Gandak, Son, Gomti and Chambal — cover a vast expanse of northern plains,
including Delhi, Agra, Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna and Kolkota.
30% of India: With a basin spread over an amazing 1,016,124 square km, covering parts of India, Nepal,
China and Bangladesh, it occupies 30 per cent of the land area in India.
Biodiversity: With a length of 2,525 km, it supports a rich biodiversity with 140 fish species, 90 amphibian
species and five areas supporting birds found nowhere else in the world. It is home to the endangered
Ganges river dolphin and the rare freshwater shark — Glyphis ganeticus.
The delta: The Sunderbans delta supports more than 289 terrestrial, 219 aquatic, 315 bird, 1,276 fish and
31 crustacean species. There are also 35 reptile and 42 mammals, including the world’s last population of
tigers living in mangroves.
Religion: For millions, the Ganga is the centre of social and religious traditions. Pilgrimage towns like
Hardwar, Varanasi and Allahabad hold special significance.
Failed efforts
Ganga Action Plan (GAP) Phase-I: Launched in 1985 to improve the water quality. Was completed in
March 2000.
GAP Phase-II: Approved in stages 1993 onwards. It covered tributaries Yamuna, Gomti, Damodar and
Mahananda
National Ganga River Basin Authority: Launched in 2009. In 2011, a project with World Bank assistance
for abatement of pollution at an estimated cost of Rs 7,000 crore was approved by the Centre.
RIVER CLEAN-UP
A LOT of hope is held out from the Sabarmati clean-up in Gujarat. However, going by the ground reality
there, Himanshu Kakkar of the South Asian Network of Dams, Rivers and People (SANDARP), is sceptical.
“The state of rivers in Gujarat is very bad. Some of the rivers in the state are the most polluted rivers of
India, as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The claim that the Sabarmati has been cleaned
up is wrong. The clean Sabarmati we see flowing through the middle of Ahmedabad city is the water
diverted from Narmada, which should have gone to drought-prone areas of Gujarat.
“Those drought-prone areas have been deprived of water to create this showpiece in the city, benefitting
only riverfront commercial development. Upstream of the point where Narmada waters enter the
Sabarmati, it is a dry river for most months. And downstream of Ahmedabad, at Vasna barrage, it is as
dirty as the Yamuna. There is no example of river cleaning or rejuvenation that the Gujarat government
can show,” says Kakkar. ‘Waterman’ Rajendra Singh agrees with this assessment. The state of the rivers in
Gujarat is bad, he says.
But the very fact that Modi has made a “promise” gives Dehradun-based environmentalist Anil Joshi a
reason to smile. “I see hope because this is Modi’s first commitment to his constituency. He has promised
to bring the Ganga back to its original glory. More importantly, this is also the wish of sadhus and sants,
the BJP’s key supporters. Earlier, when they talked of the Ganga’s plight no one paid heed,” he says.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140525/prime.htm
Rishikesh-based GAP offers help to Modi for clean Ganga
Lauding Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi for his pledge to clean up the Ganga, the Rishikeshbased Ganga Action Parivar has offered its help in the effort while proposing to host a ‘Ganga parliament’
to highlight the urgent need to protect the river.
Modi, who won the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat in the just-concluded general elections, has promised to
clean the Ganga by 2019. While filing his nomination from the holy city, he had said it was the summons
of ‘Mother Ganga’ which had brought him to Varanasi.
Ganga Action Parivar has been working on a mission to clean the Ganga for the last five years and has
now offered help to Modi to achieve this target. “Modiji’s pledge is crucial for India because, if the Ganga
dies, India also will die. We are ready to help the Centre in this regard. I have had conversations with
Modiji about Ganga in the past and was impressed by his determination to restore Ganga to her pristine
and free-flowing form. I am looking forward to soon meeting him again over this,” Swami Chidanand
Saraswati, the founder-President of GAP, said from the USA.
GAP brings together networks and partnerships of world’s leading researchers, environmentalists,
engineers, religious bodies and business leaders for creating solutions to the numerous problems
plaguing the Ganga. Saraswati said they are also planning to hold a Ganga parliament in Rishikesh soon in
which Modi and MPs from the states through which the Ganga flows will be invited.
“The time has come for a Ganga parliament… It would be aimed at inspiring valiant efforts to bring the
entire river back to a clean and green condition. We are also making a new film of 543 seconds (one
second for each MP) so that they may do a rethink on the issue,” Saraswati added.
He also said that apart from a separate ministry for the Ganga, there should be powerful new laws and
strong enforcement to ensure the river’s health.
http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/rishikesh-based-gap-offers-help-to-modi-for-cleanganga-2/
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/how-will-narendra-modi-fulfill-hispromise-of-cleaning-the-river-ganga/articleshow/35446607.cms
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/activists-await-details-of-narendramodis-ganga-cleanup-plan/articleshow/35315757.cms
Ganges River: Revered, Fouled and Symbol of an Indian Election Campaign
VARANASI, India — For centuries, Hindus have brought their dead to banks of the Ganges River in this
ancient city, with the promise that if their bodies are burned on the riverfront, their souls will escape the
constant cycle of rebirth and attain moksha, or salvation. Transporting their souls is the goddess of the
river, whose ebbs and flows have run through thousands of years of civilization.
There was a time in living memory when the water in the river was clean enough to drink, said Shyamlal
Eshad, a boatman in his 50s. Today, three hundred million liters of raw sewage mixed with industrial
pollutants are dumped in the Ganges here every day, according to B.D. Tripathi, an environmental
scientist and an advocate for cleaning the Ganges. The stench along the uneven cobblestone steps in
parts of Varanasi is overpowering, and Mr. Eshad laments his goddess in decline.
Now this city’s holy waters are at the center of one of the most important elections in India’s modern
history as Narendra Modi, the front-runner in the race for prime minister, has made the cleanup of the
sacred river a metaphor for his campaign. He says he wants to restore the river’s purity just as he will
revive a nation sullied by corruption and stalled by mismanagement and bureaucratic sloth.
“I feel Mother Ganga has called me to Varanasi,” Mr. Modi said to a sea of caps, masks and flags in
saffron, the color of his Bharatiya Janata Party, at a rally leading up to the voting here on Monday. Results
are expected Friday. “I feel like a child who has returned to his mother’s lap,” he said.
He is not the only politician drawn to this metaphor. Arvind Kejriwal, the firebrand leader of the Aam
Aadmi Party, is also running for Parliament from Varanasi, pledging to stamp out corruption. He is not
from the city, either, having recently served as Delhi’s chief minister. Though he resigned after just 49
days, Mr. Kejriwal remains a symbol of the challenge to the entrenched politics dominated by the
governing Indian National Congress and the B.J.P. for the past two decades. Mr. Kejriwal’s campaign
against Mr. Modi is quixotic and largely symbolic..
A sputtering economy and corruption scandals under the Congress party, which has governed India for
much of its modern history, has made Mr. Modi the beneficiary of a collective populist anger. But Mr.
Modi’s role as chief minister of Gujarat during the 2002 Hindu-Muslim riots that left more than 1,000
people dead, most of them Muslims, has shadowed his ascent to the national stage and alienated many
Indian Muslims.
Cleaning up the Ganges, a river on which 450 million people depend, is a cherished goal that spans
religious divisions.
“There’s some sort of symbolic confession to Hindu nationalism, but cleaning the Ganga is a project that
Muslims would embrace, too, except that they wouldn’t vote for him for his record,” said Ashutosh
Varshney, a political scientist at Brown University.
Varanasi in many ways symbolizes the entwining of the Hindu and Muslim faiths in India. Pilgrims,
philosophers, poets and performers have flourished amid the rise and fall of the city’s Hindu and Muslim
conquerors, who dotted its labyrinth of alleys with thousands of temples and mosques. Like India,
Varanasi has a Hindu majority, but it has a larger than average number of Muslims. The two faiths are
bonded by the silk industry, music and cultural practices, creating what is often viewed as a model for
communal harmony.
The 15th-century mystic Sufi poet Kabir was born into the Muslim weaver community in Varanasi. He was
so revered for his tolerance and insight into the essence of all religions that when he died, Muslims and
Hindus fought over his body. Legend has it that he turned into flowers: Muslims buried half of them;
Hindus cremated the rest.
The parties of both Mr. Modi and Mr. Kejriwal have tried to woo the city’s 60,000 weavers by promising
to rejuvenate the dying handloom industry and connect it to international markets, which now are
flooded with imitation garments and Chinese competition.
Haji Mohammed Shamin, a Muslim weaver whose family has been making the city’s famous silks for at
least five generations, said the Muslim vote was firmly against Mr. Modi, though split among his rivals. He
voted for Mr. Kejriwal.
But the pull of Mr. Modi and his pledge to rejuvenate the river is strong here. Mr. Eshad, the boatman,
said that if Mr. Modi could preserve the Ganges, he could “remain in power for another 20 years.”
Mr. Modi, the son of a tea-stall owner, traces his political awakening to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh, a Hindu-nationalist organization that provides an ideological foundation for his party. He recently
acknowledged that he abandoned an arranged marriage 45 years ago because of the organization’s
requirement of celibacy. He spent much of his career rising through the party’s ranks. Many of its
members are the foot soldiers of his campaign, worrying minorities and liberals.
Vishwambhar Nath Mishra, who is head of one of the city’s most visited temples and an engineering
professor, said he talked with Mr. Modi and Mr. Kejriwal about the river’s problems.
“We have tried our very best, but it wasn’t until this election that we’ve seen the issue resurface as a
focus issue,” said Mr. Mishra, caretaker of the home of the 16th-century poet Tulsidas, who retold the
Ramayana, an ancient epic poem. He said Mr. Modi “wants to convey a message that he leads this
society.”
Mr. Kejriwal has criticized Mr. Modi’s environmental record. He sent workers to take samples of the
Sabarmati River in Gujarat, which Mr. Modi said he had cleaned up in the same way he promises to clean
up the Ganges. According to the party’s test, the Sabarmati river is polluted.
Dr. Tripathi, an environmental science professor at Banaras Hindu University and a member of a
government panel studying the Ganges, said the flow of the Ganges is being blocked by dams for
irrigation and electricity, limiting its ability to clean itself. Ninety-five percent of the pollution comes from
the raw sewage and industrial pollutants pouring into it; the rest is half-burned flesh and religious items,
he said. Officials claim they lack the money to build proper water-treatment facilities.
“We are converting a river into a pond due to our actions,” said Dr. Tripathi, blaming mismanagement for
the many hundreds of millions of dollars invested in the river with little to show for it. Like many here, he
believes Mr. Modi is the only candidate decisive enough to save the river.
“Modi’s approach with Varanasi, is definitely for a lot of Hindus, a call to the ancient past,” said Nilanjana
S. Roy, a writer. “It’s an attempt to create a Hindu symbol and it’s a call to clean up the pollution of the
culture.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/15/world/asia/ganges-river-revered-soiled-and-symbol-of-an-indianelection-campaign.html?_r=0
dna edit: Cleaning up the Ganges would be a tough task for the BJP if it comes to power
BJP leader Narendra Modi had been pulling out many cards from up his sleeve in the frenetic run for the
prime minister’s post. The last of the aces were pulled up in the holy city of Varanasi, where he played
the Ganga card. The rhetoric was construed as a clarion call, and now all hearts are bleeding red for the
river that has been polluted and damned by one and all. But like his contentious ‘Gujarat model of
development’, this one needs closer scrutiny. Whether the man can indeed cleanse the Ganga will
depend on what needs to be done, and whether his impassioned cry is in tune with his party’s policies.
Modi needs to understand that this is not a socio-political-cultural issue — it is about environment, rivers.
Here’s where the man and his party will falter. For starters, the National Ganga River Basin Project, that is
already in place to support the ineffective and non-transparent National Ganga River Basin Authority
(NGRBA), cannot possibly work at cross-purposes with the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP). The
NRCP, in turn, cannot do much if the ministry of water resources keeps breathing down its neck with its
environmentally-damaging notions of managing rivers.
This might well ring true if a Modi-led BJP government that’s a die-hard advocate for the inter-linking of
rivers (ILR) comes to power. The party manifesto had played down ILR, but had also underlined, “BJP
commits to ensure the cleanliness, purity and uninterrupted flow of the Ganga on priority.” Like Modi did
later at Varanasi, the party manifesto had thought it better not to elaborate its Ganga plan. After all, the
threats to the Ganga are the same that other rivers are faced with: dams and hydropower projects, urban
and industrial pollution, and encroachment. You cannot rejuvenate rivers without handling core issues.
And assuming that Modi would want to clean up only the Ganga and no other river, he would have to
start from the source. Often, if you want to clean up something you need to start from the top – in this
case, the Himalayas. He will have to start with dams high up in the hills. For a party that clamours for
hydel power, this would be difficult to do.
At the end of the day, Modi might have to inflict his Gujarat model on Varanasi. The Sabarmati riverfront
in Ahmedabad might look inviting to tourists, but for others the river is dead both upstream and
downstream.
The water itself does not belong to the Sabarmati — it is Narmada water. Already farmers of Saurashtra,
for whom the Narmada waters were diverted in, are filing FIRs and fighting cases. RTI responses indicate
that the Sardar Sarovar Dam suffered serious damage in 2011 and had not been repaired till even a
month back. The Gujarat model of managing rivers does not work on the national front. In any case, Modi
is not talking anything new. Phase I of the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) was initiated in 1985, completed in
2000. The second phase is still on. Projects amounting to Rs2589 crore have been sanctioned under the
NGRBA programme. This includes a pollution abatement project at Varanasi worth Rs496.90 crore. So,
what Modi will instead need to assess and address is why GAP has been an abject failure. The day he
realises that the answer lies in “unbridled development”, you will know which turn he will take.
http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/editorial-dna-edit-cleaning-up-the-ganges-would-be-a-tough-taskfor-the-bjp-if-it-comes-to-power-1988653
Modi plans to nurture Ganga as national project, Amit Shah says
The BJP in its manifesto has committed to ensure the cleanliness, purity and uninterrupted flow of the
Ganga on priority. (Getty Images photo)
NEW DELHI: Narendra Modi plans to declare Ganga a 'national project' and develop and nurture the holy
city of Varanasi if he becomes the Prime Minister, Amit Shah, a close aide of the Gujarat CM, said on
Tuesday. Varanasi is the second constituency from where Modi contested the Lok Sabha polls.
Under a Modi government, development of the heritage city and the river would become a national
project and hence not remain only within the jurisdiction of the state government, Shah said.
It was not without any reason that Modi, while filing his nomination, had said he had got a "call from
Mother Ganga" which drew him to the city. After all, Ganga is one of the strongest Hindutva symbols.
"Ganga will be declared a national project and through that Varanasi will be developed," said Shah, who
strategized for polls in UP.
Shah's reply was to a question on how Modi will nurture and ensure development in Varanasi in the
Samajwadi Party-run state.
BJP's manifesto also devotes two paragraphs under the head of 'Cultural Heritage', to the river. "Ganga is
a symbol of faith in India ... People and cattle depend on it for agriculture, fodder and drinking water...
Unfortunately even decades of Independence, the Ganga continues to be polluted and is dying. BJP
commits to ensure the cleanliness, purity and uninterrupted flow of the Ganga on priority. In addition, a
massive 'Clean Rivers Programme' will be launched across the country driven by people's participation," it
says.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/lok-sabha-elections-2014/news/Modi-plans-to-nurture-Gangaas-national-project-Amit-Shah-says/articleshow/35082208.cms
Need a clean Ganga: Narendra Modi
PM-elect Narendra Modi performs the Ganga Puja with BJP president Rajnath Singh (2nd R) and other
leaders in Varanasi. Modi was in the constituency for the first time after winning the Lok Sabha election
AFP
Prof BD Tripathi, co-ordinator of the Centre for Environment Science & Technology at the Banaras Hindu
University, is one of the pioneers of scientific research into Ganga water pollution. A non-official member
of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), he has been associated with initiatives to clean the
river since 1980 and has seen up close how the efforts have been bungled by poor management, lack of
political will, corruption and lack of scientific understanding of river problems. But with Narendra Modi as
prime minister, especially aftet his winning elections from Varanasi, he's hopeful about Ganga again, he
tells dna.
Q: Starting from 1986, there have been three large central plans to clean up the Ganga -- the Ganga
Action Plans I & II and now the NGRBA. The government has spent close to Rs 20,000 crore on them. Why
have they all failed? Why is the river still so polluted?
A: The main problem with Ganga is not pollution – it's that both the flow of the river and the quantity of
water have gone down. This has led to siltation and the depth of the river has decreased. Encroachment
along the riverbed has constricted the river, so in many places, it's not a river but a pond. This has
reduced the river's self-purifying capacity. So even if there was less pollution in the river, it will not
improve water quality.
I conducted a water analysis for BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) on the Ganga during Kumbh Mela
last year. Ten crore people dipped in the Ganga at Allahabad and they should have driven the BOD levels
up, normally in the range of 3 mg/l to 20-25 mg/l. But we found that the levels increased only to 7-8
mg/l. This was because, for once, the Centre decided to increase the river flow, by directing water from
Tehri dam. If you increase the flow, automatically, Ganga will be 80-90% pollution-free.
Q: So why is so little water flowing downstream now?
A: Because of the dams that have been built in Uttarakhand on the Alakananda, Bhagirathi and
Mandakini rivers. This is a political issue, related to the states' power requirement. But why build dams
on the main channels of the rivers? You can have smaller power plants on the tributaries.
Midstream, too, water is being diverted for drinking and irrigation. Groundwater is being extracted all
along the Ganga basin. There is urgent need to implement rainwater harvesting and groundwater
recharge.
Q: Clearly states with different political dispensations and different concerns do not care about
conserving Ganga...
A: The law says states have authority over rivers which flow through them. Five states now have control
over Ganga. It's time we had a law that gives the Centre control over the river. After all, it contributes
85% the finances to managing the river.
Q: Under Ganga Action Plans I & II and NGRBA, a number of sewage treatment plants (STPs) came up all
along the river midstream. Why does the river still continue to be a cesspool?
A: STPs were built at a cost of Rs 40-50 crore each. They were based on foreign technology and equipped
only to treat sewage. But a lot of cottage industries in Kanpur, Varanasi and Allahabad empty their
industrial wastes into the sewer lines. The STPs are not equipped to handle this and the treated water
continues to flow into the river with heavy metals like cadmium and chromium.
Q: Have IITs submitted comprehensive river basin management plans they were asked to prepare?
A: Not yet.
Q: What is the principal problem with cleaning up the river? Is it lack of political will?
A: The Ganga was declared a national river in 2009, but there has been no policy and no proper planning.
There is no monitoring of plans, with mismanagement compounding the problems created by faulty
planning. Our politicians just don't seem to be serious.
One of the good things the NGRBA did was to facilitate co-ordination between the Centre, state and local
bodies of the five states. Each state would have its own Ganga Conservation Authority and municipal
corporations would also be members. But in UP, the NGRBA met only thrice in three years; in Bihar it had
no meetings.
Neither the central or state pollution control boards are serious about getting industries to stop draining
effluents into the sewers. The PM is the chairman of the NGRBA, and in states, the authority is under the
CMs. Experts enjoy only an advisory capacity. Politicians are the implementation authorities. It's because
they are not serious that the Ganga is in such a sorry state.
As PM, Manmohan Singh made one landmark contribution when he stopped 13 projects on the
Bhagirathi and declared 130 km of the river from Gomukh to Uttarkashi as an eco-sensitive zone. He
should have done the same with Mandakini and Alakananda. But he did not get time to attend meetings,
caught up as he was in various scams. Under him, the NGRBA did not meet in the last three years. It had
just one meeting on April 17, 2011.
Q: The Ganga issue has again gained political traction with Narendra Modi saying that he wants to free
the river of pollution.
A: I am very hopeful now . As PM he will be chairperson of the NGRBA. He is a doer. I will write to him
soon about these issues.
Q: But do you think he can do with Ganga what he did with Sabarmati?
A: Modi has said that he wants to replicate the Sabarmati model on the Ganga. But the Sabarmati is 300350 km long and the Ganga is 2,500 km. Also riverfront development is not conservation; it's merely
beautification. The Ganga doesn't need that. The 80 ghats along Varanasi fulfill that function.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/interview-need-a-clean-ganga-narendra-modi-1989443
NaMo speech sparks hope for rivers but Sabarmati no model, Guajarat rivers also polluted
Economist Jagdish Bhagwati eyes role in Modi governmentModi government didn’t utilize Rs 3,689 crore
for dalit upliftArun Jaitley will win the election: Rajnath SinghElections 2014: Congress leads in one seat in
Manipur
NEW DELHI: PM-elect, Narendra Modi has raised hopes among environmentalists in Delhi with his
promises to revive Ganga. They now hope the same energy is directed towards Yamuna's revival once he
takes charge. But the "Sabarmati model" on which Modi wants to base the Ganga project is hardly a
model they claim. In fact Sabarmati is equally polluted downstream of Ahmedabad near Vasna say
ecologists who have studied rivers in Gujarat. For Yamuna and Ganga, they say Modi needs to be
proactive about ensuring that no sewage or industrial effluents pollute them further.
The immediate measures that a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government can take are to ensure
that the all sewage and effluent treatment plants that discharge in to Yamuna are fully functional. It
would need to upgrade the STP infrastructure greatly in the capital as the current number of STPs, even if
they are functional will not be able to treat the amount of toxic effluents that are discharged in to the
river currently. Yamuna in its flow through Delhi also doesn't have the minimum environmental flow
which has made it a "dead" river.
Pumping about Rs 6,500 crores in Yamuna Action Plan (YAP) I and II over 19 years, a part of which was
also during NDA rule didn't manage to bring back Yamuna from the brink. Now Modi's plans to declare
Ganga as a national project and his emotive speech in Varanasi that he had answered the call of Mother
Ganga, may mean a more serious approach toward rivers.
Encroachments on the floodplains such as the Akshardham temple which was cleared during the NDA
rule earlier should not be allowed any more ecologists said. "We need a river protection zone notified
immediately for Yamuna so that there are no more encroachments on the floodplains. Yamuna and all its
tributaries in the central zone—from Yamuna Nagar to Etawah have no flow and completely dried. To
revive them, we need to ensure a minimum flow all year round," said Manoj Misra of Yamuna Jiye
Abhiyan.
Many environmentalists said that they were concerned NDA will only pay a lip service to rivers like Ganga
or Yamuna because of their relevance to right wing "Hindutva" ideology but not do much on ground.
Himangshu Thakkar of South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) for instance quotes the
example of Sabarmati. "The water that's flowing through Ahmedabad is actually water from Narmada
that has been channelized in to Sabarmati. Downstream of Narmada when it flows through Ankleshwar
and Bharuch, it's extremely polluted because of discharge of untreated effluents. So that clearly can't be
a model for any river. No river is clean in Gujarat," said Thakkar.
In fact, Vapi an industrial town in Gujarat which has river Daman Ganga flowing through it had topped
the list of critically polluted areas prepared by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in 2011. Daman
Ganga which used to be lifeline for fishermen is highly polluted now. Ankleshwar had topped the same
CPCB list in 2009. Amlakhadi river at Ankleshwar and Khari river at Lali village in Ahmedabad are also
highly polluted due to industrial effluents according to CPCB reports.
"BJP government in Gujarat or the NDA in centre has hardly done anything for rivers. We still respect
their intentions this time and hope that they will take up the issue. One of the urgent issues that Modi
government can resolve is to re-negotiate the 1994 MOU which allots just 0.724 billion cubic meters
(BCM) of water in Delhi of the 11.983 BCM of annual utilizable flow." added Misra.
Professor Vikram Soni of Jamia Millia University also strongly advocates ensuring a minimum flow in
Yamuna first. His recent scientific study has established the need to maintain at least 50% to 60% of the
total monsoon flow throughout the year for transporting river sediment, biodiversity balance and
preventing algal choking.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Delhi/NaMo-speech-sparks-hope-for-rivers-but-Sabarmati-nomodel-Guajarat-rivers-also-polluted/articleshow/35297207.cms
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2014/05/10/33210
Improved monitoring of endangered Ganges river dolphin
(Phys.org) —A new study reveals a method to improve the monitoring of the endangered Ganges river
dolphin – one of only four remaining freshwater cetaceans since the Yangtze River dolphin became
extinct in 2007.
Research author, Nadia Richman, who is a scientist at the Zoological Society of London and also a PhD
student at Bangor University's School of Environment, Natural Resources & Geography said:
"Freshwater cetaceans occupy some of the most densely populated and polluted river systems in the
world. We need to make decisions about the best way to manage these species before another becomes
extinct. However, these decisions need to be based on evidence which means we need methods that can
detect changes in population size in the quickest time possible and for the least cost."
The ability to detect changes in population size of a species helps to inform conservationists how fast a
population is declining, and whether a conservation action has been effective in stopping a decline.
Previously it was believed that visual survey methods - reliant on conservationists spotting and recording
surfacing dolphins - were the most cost-effective way of surveying the species. The study revealed that
detecting the sound that dolphins emit using a method called a combined visual-acoustic survey, can
improve the ability to detect population trends and relatively quickly become the cheapest method for
surveying.
The study was undertaken by scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), Bangor University,
the University of Chittagong in Bangladesh, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the Bangladesh
Cetacean Diversity Project, and the Fisheries Research Agency of Japan recently in South Asian River
dolphins in the rivers of Southern Bangladesh.
Nadia added: "I chose to come and study in the School of Environment, Natural Resources and
Geography at Bangor University given its reputation as an interdisciplinary research centre. Over the last
three years I have met a diverse range of researchers with a broad range of expertise which has meant
that I am never short of advice when needed."
These findings have been published (7th of May) in the journal PLOS ONE.
http://phys.org/news/2014-05-endangered-ganges-river-dolphin.html#jCp
Mamata blocked Teesta deal: PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the Teesta water sharing treaty between Bangladesh and
India could not be signed due to an objection raised by the chief minister of West Bengal.
"We had reached a consensus over the Teesta water sharing, but it was very much unfortunate that the
chief minister of an Indian State, Mamata Banarjee, raised an objection," she said.
But the Indian central government was very much cordial to sign the treaty, she said, adding her
government was hopeful that the problem would be resolved through discussions.
Hasina made the remarks in her introductory speech during a meeting with high officials of the water
resources ministry at the secretariat.
This is for the first time that the Bangladesh leader has come up with the allegation against the West
Bengal chief minister on the Teesta water sharing issue.
The treaty was supposed to be inked during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Bangladesh
in 2011.
But it did not happen as the chief minister of West Bengal refused to come to Dhaka with Manmohan,
raising her objection to the treaty at the last leg of the visit.
Hasina told the ministry officials at the meeting that the framework agreement on sharing the water of
the Teesta had been finalised, but the deal could not be signed due to the objection.
She also said the negotiations were going on with India to have Bangladesh's due share of Teesta water,
and hoped that the treaty would be inked soon.
Referring to the Ganges Water Treaty with the neighbouring country, she said the minimum water flow in
the Ganges river during the dry season had been ensured since 1997 following the signing of the deal.
In the Ganges water sharing treaty, a decision had been taken to construct the Ganges barrage by
Bangladesh to preserve waters for the dry season and a study in this regard had already been completed.
But India as the upper-riparian country can control the flow of the water of joint rivers, and joint
initiatives of the two countries are urgently needed to implement the project, she told the meeting.
About the Tipaimukh project, Hasina said it has to be done after consultation with Bangladesh. A
Framework Agreement on Cooperation for Development was signed between Bangladesh and India in
2011.
Two joint tripartite working teams -- India-Bhutan-Bangladesh group and India-Nepal-Bangladesh group -are working in Ganges and Brahmaputra basins to undertake and implement hydroelectricity projects
and ensure proper water management.
Once completed, Bangladesh will be able to purchase hydroelectricity from the project at a cheaper
price, she said.
She also mentioned that negotiations were on to produce hydropower on a joint venture basis with
Myanmar as three rivers enter Bangladesh from that country.
Hasina said over 400 rivers are flowing inside Bangladesh, including 54 originating from India, and three
from Myanmar, and most of them are under the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna basins.
Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud, among others, spoke on the occasion.
http://www.thedailystar.net/mamata-blocked-teesta-deal-pm-23723
Ganga’s problems drowned in political rhetoric
“Mother Ganga summoned me to Varanasi,” Narendra Modi said before filing his nomination papers
from Varanasi. When the Election Commission did not give him permission to hold a rally in the city,
Modi said his plan to do Ganga aarti was obstructed by the poll panel. “My profound apologies to Ganga
Maa for not being able to perform aarti,” he tweeted.
The Congress and the AAP alleged that Modi is trying to politicise the emotions that are connected with
Ganga. “Permission is needed for political events, not for prayers,” Arvind Kejriwal tweeted in reply.
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said Modi has “no respect towards Ganga as he is yet to
worship the river despite being in the city.”
But for the people connected to the river on a daily basis — farmers, fishermen, boatmen and agriculture
workers — such debates have little value.
Their concerns rise above the token religiosity and philosophy currently on display from all political
corners. Among the numerous issues that they would like the political parties to address are pollution,
droughts and floods.
Business Line spoke to a number of people in various constituencies along the Ganga including Varanasi,
Machhlishahar, Mirzapur, Chandauli and Sultanpur.
The common refrain was token obeisance to the river and its religious significance is all fine. But what
they would really like to hear from Modi are his plans for the development of the river and the
surrounding area.
Pollution issues
Pollution is the biggest worry. “Of course, we are the reason for it. But now it cannot be controlled at an
individual level. What we need is a master plan,” said Subhash Yadav, a marginal farmer along the river.
Manoj, a boatman in the famous Assi Ghat in Varanasi, is also pained at the level of pollution.
“What we demand from the administration is a system that regulates the pollution. Now, everything is
thrown into the river — from plastic bottles to garlands to dead bodies. This has to end,” he said.
A group of farmers in Mirzapur is completely dejected with the lack of Government intervention in
agriculture.
“Whoever becomes Prime Minister, our life is not going to change. Last year, we faced floods at least on
four occasions. Crops worth crores of rupees were damaged. But none of us got anything from the
Government,” said Shivanand, farmer
Risky proposition
Srijay Nishad, who plants watermelon, muskmelon and tomatoes along the river during summer, feels
agriculture along the Ganga is risky. “I invested ₹1 lakh in muskmelon last year and got back just ₹5,000. I
had to work as a labourer in a nearby city to repay my loans. But tomatoes gave me good profit,” he
pointed out. Vivek Shukla, a pesticides merchant, said farmers are working as agriculture labourers to
make ends meet. “This is a very fertile land. Still, farming is becoming unviable. Marginal farmers are now
forced to work as agriculture labourers in nearby fields to meet the input cost,” Shukla said.
Amit Kumar Singh, a management professional-turned-farmer, said he finds innovation lacking in the
area. “The Government should help us to adopt new technology in irrigation, seeds and pest
management. Here, people are hard working but there is zero intervention or guidance from the
Government,” said Singh, who also runs a farmers’ group on innovative horticulture.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/politics/gangas-problems-drowned-in-politicalrhetoric/article5998530.ece
Unholy pollution in India’s holy waters
The general election could be an opportunity to rescue the Ganges, writes Victor Mallet
There cannot be many high priests who understand sewage treatment technology, but in the holy Hindu
city of Varanasi it makes sense: every day thousands of devotees bathe in the Ganges from the steps of
the city’s famous ghats, convinced not only of the sanctity but also of the purity and medicinal qualities
of the river water.
So Vishwambhar Nath Mishra – mahant (religious leader) of the Sankat Mochan temple to Hanuman the
monkey god, president of a foundation set up by his father to protect the Ganges and professor of
electronics engineering – knows a thing or two about activated sludge plants and faecal coliform bacteria.
Varanasi, he tells me at the temple after a night-time ceremony of chanted prayers, produces 350m litres
a day of sewage, but is able to treat only 100m litres – and even that only partially. But amid the clamour
of India’s general election Prof Mishra senses an opportunity to rescue the river from industrial pollution
and human waste: Varanasi, also known as Benares, Banaras or Kashi (“the city of light”), has now
become the focus of national politics.
“The place where you’re sitting” – he points at the mat on the floor – “Modi was sitting there on the 20th
of December.” That was the day Narendra Modi of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party, favourite
to become India’s next prime minister, went on to address his first mass rally in the city.
“He was a mute spectator. Whatever I was saying, he was just listening,” says Prof Mishra firmly. “I said,
‘Modi-ji, you are going to address a big crowd. It would be nice if you could consider, if you could
deliberate on this [Ganges] issue. Most people are not aware of it.’”
On that day and since, Mr Modi has responded handsomely to Prof Mishra’s request, calling the Ganges
his mother and promising a clean-up. Seeking Hindu support across India, and eager for votes from the
vast population of the city’s hinterland in Uttar Pradesh, Mr Modi is also standing as a member of
parliament for Varanasi. Arvind Kejriwal, leader of the anti-corruption Aam Aadmi or Common People
party, is doing the same to challenge Mr Modi.
As thousands of rowdy supporters packed Varanasi’s streets last week to glimpse Mr Modi presenting his
nomination papers for parliament, the BJP leader praised the cultural glories of Varanasi while lamenting
the state of the Ganges. In parts of Uttar Pradesh, he said in his blog, the river’s condition was “pitiable”.
For foreigners and Indians alike, the shocking state of the Ganges along much of its 2,500km between the
Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal is an enduring mystery. If the river is so holy, how come the 450m
people who depend on it for water and food treat it with such contempt? Why has so much state money
for cleaning the river been wasted, stolen or simply never spent?
Varanasi itself provides a clue. Say it softly while you are there, but the holiest city in India is also among
the filthiest and most dilapidated. Drains are blocked with garbage. Tour guides blithely discard plastic
cups into the Ganges after finishing their tea. When you stumble across yet another heap of rubble in the
streets, it is hard to tell if it comes from an ancient building that has collapsed or is destined for another
that may – eventually – be built.
This is more than just a lack of civic pride. The river’s sanctity may itself be part of the problem. B D
Tripathi, head of environmental science at Banaras Hindu University, has been concerned about the
Ganges since 1972, when he bathed with his mother and encountered the floating corpse of a cow. When
he spoke of pollution and started measuring it, his mother and others were appalled. “Varanasi is a
religious place,” says Prof Tripathi. “They said: ‘You are not a Hindu. The water of Ganga [the Ganges] is
the most pure.’”
He is not discouraged. He campaigns against dams that reduce the river’s water flow and claims to be the
first to calculate how many human corpses are burnt each year at Varanasi’s main cremation ghats:
32,000, he says, releasing 200 tonnes of half-burnt flesh into the Ganges.
If Mr Modi does become prime minister, and if he is elected in Varanasi, those in the city who care for
the Ganges will be quick to hold him to his promises after decades of broken government pledges. Prof
Mishra says he will be “the first person to tell him: ‘You made this commitment in Sankat Mochan
temple.’ Our objective is that not even a drop of sewage should go into the Ganges.” The devoutly Hindu
Mr Modi has been warned.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/49d83172-ceef-11e3-ac8d-00144feabdc0.html#axzz30LTTa1gK
AAP promises ‘holy city’ status to Varanasi
Varanasi: The AAP Thursday released its Varanasi manifesto, promising a “holy city” status to the city
besides setting up new medical centres, cleaning the Ganges and curbing the mafia.
In the seven-page manifesto, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of “ruining
the city’s infrastructure and civic amenities in the last 15-20 years of its rule” in Varanasi.
AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal is pitted against BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in Varanasi.
The third main candidate is Ajay Rai of the Congress.
“Varanasi will be developed as the spiritual capital of the world and hence it will get the status of a holy
city. We will arrange special economic packages from the central and state governments to develop the
city’s infrastructure,” the manifesto said.
“The Ganga and all the ghats will be cleaned. Plastic will be banned in the city so that the river is not
polluted.
“There will be new, better roads, special focus on beautification and cleanliness of the city including
places of religious and historic importance … (to) help boost the city’s tourism.”
The AAP manifesto pledged to set up an institute on the lines of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences
at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in addition to opening primary health centres in rural areas.
It promised to set up a sewage treatment plant in the city and provide water pipelines to areas which do
not get adequate water, especially the villages.
Subsidised electricity to re-energise the city’s industries and uninterrupted power supply to homes would
be offered.
Focusing on the BHU, the AAP said all allegations of corruption against the university administration
would be probed in a time-bound manner.
It promised to re-introduce student elections in all universities and colleges.
Promising to end the alleged connivance among police, politicians and the mafia, the AAP said: “The
politics of truth and sacrifice will end the unholy matrimony between the three.”
The manifesto also promised to address the concerns of farmers, boatmen, fishermen, and those
involved in unorganised sectors like toys and handicraft industry.
http://freepressjournal.in/aap-promises-holy-city-status-to-varanasi/
April 2014
Fighting Back a Rising Tide
About two years ago, while on the last portion of a journey down the Ganges River across India and
Bangladesh, I found myself on a 20-foot wooden fishing boat, riding the blunt chop and slashing crosscurrents of the Ganges as it merged with its sister-rivers, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna, and then
poured into the Bay of Bengal. It was the height of the summer monsoon, and the rivers behaved like
barely-strangled seas, casting smaller craft high into the air as their two- and three-man crews (or twoand-three-boy crews) worked the sails and clung to the gunwales like skateboarders on a half-pipe.
Amid the rain and wind, it felt necessary to glance now and again to the shoreline and estimate what it
might take to reach safety in the event we capsized. More often than not, however, there was no shore
to be seen. On the deltaic islands that make up Bangladesh’s southern frontier, the line separating land
and water is more than indistinct—it often is not there.
It is an article of faith in media and advocacy circles that Bangladesh is doomed, that rising sea levels will
swallow as much as 20 percent of this Iowa-sized nation (the world’s most densely populated, if you
leave out smidgens like Monaco and Malta), and send tens of millions of climate refugees hurling
themselves across the border with India. This narrative pits carbon-belching giants in the West and China
against a poor and helpless waterlogged state. But Bangladesh has been fighting back—literally holding
back the sea—through a combination of foreign money, fertile mud and local democracy. On the fringes
of one of the world’s most climate-threatened states, thousands of poor farmers and laborers have
shown what can happen when governments and donor states make local people the agents of their own
renewal.
More than 30 million people live in the low-lying coastal districts of southern Bangladesh. It is a region
ruled by water: The Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers spill an incredible 68 cubic miles of water,
along with 525 million tons of eastern Himalayan silt, into the Bay of Bengal each year. Twice each day,
the tide comes upto press its enduring claim to Bangladesh’s barely-elevated nether-lands.
This claim went unopposed for thousands of years. The poor inhabitants of the lower Bengal delta lived
just above sea level on slowly-accreted islands of alluvial muck, surviving through subsistence rice
cultivation, fishing and luck. That their homes and fields would be flooded every morning and evening
was as sure as the phases of the moon. That they would die in large numbers during tropical cyclones was
more obvious still.
Records of these storms date back to at least the 16th century, when Abu al-Fazal ibn Mubarak, vizier to
the Mughal emperor Akbar, wrote of a 1582 cyclone: “It blew a hurricane with thunder and lightning for
five hours, during which time the sea was greatly agitated. The houses and boats were swallowed up,
nothing remaining but the Hindoo temple on the height. Near 200,000 living creatures perished in the
calamity.”
The delta, located at the tip of a geographical funnel formed by India and Myanmar, would be punished
by giant storms with a brutal regularity. A 1998 report by the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation counts 96 cyclones striking the coast of present-day Bangladesh between 1582 and 1996. As
many as 100,000 drowned in Backerganj (later Barisal) during a cyclone in 1876, and another 100,000
were killed by hunger in its aftermath. Nearly a century later, in 1970, a six-day cyclone, with surges as
high as 33 feet, killed between 300,000 and half a million people. “Even from an airplane it was possible
to smell death,” an Associated Press correspondent wrote after surveying the destruction. (The Pakistani
government’s indifferent response to this catastrophe helped push East Pakistan towards open revolt–
and the creation of independent Bangladesh.)
Into this salinated breach stepped the United States. In the 1950s and ’60s, leaders in Dhaka complained
that the majority of international development aid to Pakistan unfairly favored the western part of the
then-bifurcated country. Why, the Bengalis asked, were they, with 20 million more people than West
Pakistan, deprived of this benefit?
This is how the polders came to be built, first as an American development project and, from 1972 until
today, as a preoccupation of the Dutch. A polder is an enclosed system of dikes, canals and inlets first
employed on the northern coast of Europe in the 1500s. These coastal embankments keep the North Sea
from swallowing much of Holland. While the concept is simple, the execution can be tricky. A low-lying
area (or very low-lying: 20 percent of the Netherlands is below sea level, and another 50 percent sits just
one meter above) is surrounded by a dike to hold back the waters. Rainwater and excess ground water
are either pumped out (that’s what all those windmills were about) or released through sluice gates
during low tide.
More than 120 such polders were built in present-day Bangladesh between the 1960s and 1980s. Work
stopped in the aftermath of the horrific 1970 cyclone and during Bangladesh’s bloody liberation war the
following year, but in time the country’s vulnerable southern islands were ringed by high earthen walls.
The twice-daily inundation was halted, and coastal Bangladesh saw new road construction, electrification
and more productive agriculture. The sea, meanwhile, bided its time.
As is often the case with grand infrastructure in developing countries, nothing much happened from
there. Maintenance of the polder areas was poor. Residents had little or no say in how and when their
embankments were repaired, or when the sluice gates might be opened to release water from rainsodden fields. The embankments were seen as government property, and the government–centralized,
corrupt and burdened with the administration of a very poor and densely-populated country—seldom
showed up for work.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/04/bangladesh-floods-105884.html#.U1dKRvmSz1Y
Effluent discharge in Ganga: NGT warns pollution control boards
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) today warned the Central and Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Boards
that it would pass "coercive orders" if effective steps were not taken to control pollution due to effluent
discharged by sugar mills and a dairy firm in the river Ganga.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar directed Central Pollution Control Board
(CPCB), UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), Simbhaoli Sugar Mills,Gopalji Milk Food and Pvt Ltd and
National Ganga River Basin Authority to hold a meeting within a week to work out the modalities to
check, prevent and control pollution.
"We direct all the respondents and their senior officers to hold a meeting within one week to work out
the modalities for checking, preventing and controlling pollution and to put forward a time bound action
plan to execute the same," the bench said.
The bench further observed that "Simbhaoli Sugar mills and Distillery Simbhaoli Spirits Ltd are serious
polluters and if effective steps are not taken to curb the pollution we will be compelled to pass certain
coercive orders in accordance with law."
The tribunal also directed UPPCB to serve notices to all the industries whose names have already been
pointed out by CPCB in their report submitted on February 7 and also to those industries which discharge
their effluents in Ganges or its tributaries for being present on the next date of hearing, May 6.
The bench was hearing a petition filed by UP resident Krishan Kant Singh who contended that the stretch
of Ganga from Garmukteshwar to Narora was being polluted due to discharge of highly toxic and harmful
effluents by the sugar mill as well as the dairy firm.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/effluent-discharge-in-ganga-ngt-warns-pollutioncontrol-boards-114042200984_1.html
In battle for Varanasi, no party has a take on Ganga
The battle for Varanasi has just started with the high profile political leaders beginning to file their
nominations from the ancient city. While AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal filed his nomination on
Wednesday, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will file his nomination from the temple
town on Thursday.
Overall, the times are interesting for Varanasi. However, just a few miles away from the district
headquarters of Varanasi, flows the mighty Ganges. The narrow and contracted breadth of the river in
the holy city well describes the interrupted flow and pollution of the river in its entire course.
Vinod Sahni, a boatman says, “The river is owned by all. It serves Hindus, Muslims and all communities
equally. Therefore it is neither a Hindu vote bank nor Muslim vote bank. We stand no where without this
river.”
Sadly, no party manifesto has clearly mentioned about their agenda on the Ganga. Despite the hot
political conversations coming from Varanasi, the Ganga is nowhere in the list. While a heavy number of
Hindu devotees come and offer rituals on the banks of the Ganges almost daily, the river is equally the
source of income generation and water for people of all communities.
According to Prof BD Tripathi, a river scientist from the Benaras Hindu University (BHU), who is also one
of the members of the National River Ganga Basin Authority (NRGBA), it seems the Ganga is not the vote
bank this political season and this is the reason why the political parties are not coming up with a clear
agenda on the issue. “It is the hostility of the political parties that this river, a life line of 450 million
people and 5 states, is suffering”, he said.
Prof Tripathi strongly says that the problem associated with the river is not just pollution, but dams and
channels built over its course. A time will come in next ten years when the Ganga originating from
Himalayas may not reach its destination that is Ganga Sagar, he says.
According to Dr Rajendra Singh (Water Man of India), Ganga is not discussed any where, reason being the
river is not giving votes to them. Some of the manifestos have mentioned about linking rivers though.
“However, linking and connecting rivers is itself a major threat for a river’s life. They should rather talk
about connecting the rivers with the society and sustainable development. Ganga and other major rivers
in the country have only become garbage carriers and thus they do not offer votes to the political parties.
This is where the river lags behind”, said Magsaysay award winner Dr Singh.
According to him, it’s been three decades that the ambitious Ganga Action Plan (GAP) was launched in
April 1985 from Varanasi and that brought support from several lakhs of voters, however the very fact is
being forgotten this poll season.
Sankat Mochan Foundation, an organisation led by environmentalist late Veer Bhadra Mishra is also of
the same opinion. Prof Vishwambhar Nath Mishra of SMF and Mahant of Sankat Mochan temple says,
“We have clearly put our agenda before Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal on their respective visits to
the holy city. We have kept our fingers crossed to see what is in store for the river”, he said.
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/in-battle-for-varanasi-no-party-has-a-take-onganga/2/
'Ganga Act' to Breathe Life into Clean River Campaign
With Varanasi emerging as the theatre of the Lok Sabha polls’ battle royale--BJP PM candidate Narendra
Modi pitted against his principal opponent,AAP stalwart Arvind Kejriwal-- the Ganga too has become an
election plank for the main parties in the fray.
Even as the political outfits in the holy city step up the rhetoric to clean up the river, the babus in the
national capital’s corridors of power are working on the draft for a new legislation to save the river,
which is the lifeline for over 40 per cent of the country’s population.
Despite a huge amount of public money,running into several thousand crores literally going down the
drain as part of the Ganga Action Plan campaign, there has been no tangible improvement in the quality
of water in the mighty river.
The new law, though, will have more teeth and it will be binding on all the stakeholders.
And a fine for those polluting the river, ensuring continuous river flow, sustainable financial model to
stop the polluted water entering the river, regulating hydroelectric projects and floodplain management
are some of the key points of the new ‘Ganga Act’.
Actually, the push came from the Prime Minister’s Office(PMO),which had asked the Union Ministry of
Environment and Forests (MoEF) to prepare a legislation to check pollution and ensure the ecological
integrity of the river.
Following this,a panel under the Ministry of Environment and Forests comprising representatives from
the Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Urban Development, Central Water Commission and a
consortium of IITs was set up to draft the law. The committee has already held two-rounds of talks to
discuss a broad framework for the new legislation, which has been a long pending demand of the activists
and is also a politically sensitive issue, with the BJP including it in its election manifesto.
But now all eyes are on the new government which will come to power the Centre and the officials of the
committee have adopted a wait and watch policy.
“The Prime Minister’s Office has asked us to work on developing a Ganga Act and they have sent a very
good Term of Reference (ToR) for us to proceed. “We have constituted an inter-ministerial committee to
discuss the framework of the law,” said a senior MoEF official.
The ToR deal with issues related to the ecological integrity of the river, encroachment of floodplains,
construction of hydroelectric power projects and devising a sustainable financial model to ensure that
the residual waste water from the industries and sewage doesn’t flow into the river but is treated and
reused, with penalty for the polluters.
According to the official, generating money for implementing the plan under the new law would be the
biggest challenge. “There are 900 class I and II towns, which generate 40,000 million litres of sewage
daily and as of now we have capacity of only treating 11,000 million litres daily.
“For transporting and treating one million litres of sewage, we need `3-5 crore so you can imagine the
amount of money we would need for the whole.
“The Centre cannot provide the entire amount, so we have to take it from people and industry,” the
official said.
Earlier, the Centre’s plans to revive the river to its original glory had been a resounding failure. The
Ganga, which originates from Gangotri Glacier in the Garhwal Himalayas,opens out into the Bay of Bengal
at Ganga Sagar in West Bengal after traversing a distance of 2525 km from its source.
The Ganga Action Plan phase-I(GAP-I) started in 1985 at a cost of `500 crore and GAP-II launched in 1993
at a cost of `2,285 crore had failed to yield the desired results. And the Parliamentary Standing
Committee on Environment and Forests has flayed the MoEF for the deteriorating water quality in the
Ganga, despite spending a whopping `39,000 crore.
In 2009, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had unveiled a plan to clean up the Ganga by 2020 by setting
up the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA).
However, the authority has met only thrice since its inception and three of its members have resigned,
citing the Prime Minister’s complete lack of interest and inability on saving the Ganga.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/Ganga-Act-to-Breathe-Life-into-Clean-RiverCampaign/2014/04/27/article2190887.ece
Saving Bangladesh’s river dolphins
In Bangladesh, the battle for resources and the construction of dams and levees are depleting fish stocks
and pushing river dolphins to the brink. Now, local communities are fighting back.
Project goal: increasing biodiversity in the wetlands, protecting the Ganges river dolphin and several
freshwater fish species, improving livelihoods of local communities
Duration: 2009 to 2015
Size: pilot project in 34 wetlands in the region of Pabna with a total size of 1,308 hectares
Key species: Ganges river dolphin and other indigenous fresh water fish including the Chitala Chitala,
Olive barb (Puntius sarana), the Pabo catfish (Ompok pabo) or the Stinging catfish (Heteropneustes
fossilis)
The Ganges river dolphin lives in one of the world’s most densely populated and impoverished regions the Ganges river delta in Bangladesh. The country is prone to flooding and rising sea levels. Authorities
are fighting back by raising levees, dredging canals and pumping water. To make matters worse, the
battle for resources and pollution are destroying the country's rivers. It all has a huge impact on the
region’s biodiversity. It’s not just the endangered Ganges dolphin, known as shishu in Bangladesh, but
also fresh water fish who are in danger of losing their habitat. Fish catch has declined by nearly 75
percent in regions such as Pabna, spelling disaster for the livelihoods of fishing communities. Now,
Germany’s international development and aid organization, GIZ, is working with local communities to set
up three new protected zones for the Ganges river dolphin. The success of the project depends on locals
respecting the new borders and fishermen taking an active role in conservation.
http://www.dw.de/saving-bangladeshs-river-dolphins/a-17568303
Party manifestos mum on pollution in rivers
NEW DELHI: Pollution in Yamuna or Ganga do not figure in the manifestos of the capital's three major
political parties nor does any focused plan on addressing the crisis of rivers.
Despite having its roots in Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party doesn't talk about its plans for the extremely polluted
Yamuna. With little progress made on the Ganga and Yamuna action plans, the Congress merely aims to
"clean rivers on a large scale". The BJP, meanwhile, continues to pitch its controversial pet projectinterlinking of rivers. Environmentalists say little thought has gone into addressing urgent ecological
concerns like the state of rivers or their position on dams.
Congress in Delhi oversaw most part of the Yamuna Action Plan's Phase II but, as per reviews by various
civil society groups, neither YAP I or II contributed much in improving the health of the river. About Rs
6,500 crore has been spent on the river in the past 19 years, according to Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan. But this
time, activists were hoping that AAP, which is more of a local party, would have a plan for Yamuna.
"AAP doesn't say anything on rivers. Since it appeared to be a more forward looking party, we hoped it
would have some radical plans for the river and floodplains. This is a letdown," Manoj Misra of Yamuna
Jiye Abhiyan said. The only 'radical' proposition by AAP is to transfer the ownership of minor minerals and
forest produce to local communities and have a "royalty and revenue sharing agreement" with them in
cases of commercial exploitation of natural resources.
However, there are even more serious concerns about BJP's manifesto that plans to interlink rivers and
provide "piped water to all households". "It's a disastrous proposition to interlink rivers. It's not just
unscientific. The fact that it has not taken off in the past 10 years is proof of the fact that it can't be done.
It's very expensive and can lead to huge displacement," said Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of SANDRP
(South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People).
BJP has been proposing interlinking of rivers since 2004 because it sees it to be a means to provide
irrigation to all states, Thakkar says. He adds that the "right wing attempt to save the Ganga" also doesn't
reflect in the manifesto. Instead a very populist agenda comes across with BJP promising water for all but
not reflecting on how it will manage that feat, he says. In the cultural heritage section of BJP manifesto, it
does mention about "purifying" Ganga water but there is no action plan on how it can be purified.
The plight of Ganga that hasn't got any focused agenda from the three parties seems even more
pertinent considering that the PM candidates of BJP and AAP are contesting from Varanasi.
Congress, for its part, has a very simplistic view on rivers-it wants to "clean rivers on a large scale".
"Something that is successful can be replicated. But the action plans have not been successful, so I don't
know how they plan to clean all rivers. The manifesto should have elaborated on how they will clean the
rivers," said Thakkar. However, Congress has managed to put down a few concrete plans-like launching a
Green National Accounts so that environmental costs are reflected in national accounts and setting up a
National Environmental Appraisal and Monitoring Authority for environmental appraisals.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Delhi/Party-manifestos-mum-on-pollution-inrivers/articleshow/33463829.cms
Varanasi activists seek inclusion of water security in poll agenda of parties
VARANASI: As all the political outfits are trying their best to garner public support for 2014 general
elections, the water activists are also gearing up to push their demand of 'right to water security' for
inclusion in their election manifesto. The Congress has released its election manifesto while other parties
are yet to come up with their poll agenda.
"Though the Congress has beautifully drafted its environment related poll agenda in the manifesto, we
have doubts over its sincerity as the Congress led UPA-II did nothing appreciable for Ganga," Magsaysay
awardee Rajendra Singh, popularly known as Waterman of India, told TOI. Singh was here to attend a
meeting of human rights and water activists organised by Jal-Jan Jodo Abhiyan and People's Vigilance
Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) on Friday evening.
"The Ganga found prominence during UPA-I regime only while the holy river remained neglected in UPAII regime," said Singh further adding that the UPA should have brought Right to Water Security Act before
the Food security Act.
In its recently released manifesto Congress has tried to highlight its achievements and plans on
environmental front. Regarding the works done in last five years, Congress manifesto says, "Environment
and natural resources are a national treasure that we need to pass onto our future generations. So we
worked to increase water security, cleaned our rivers and protected existing forest cover. We established
the Ganga River Basin Authority and passed the National Green Tribunal Act, marking a paradigm shift in
conservation efforts". Regarding its plan the manifesto says, "Environmental accountability is essential.
Through 'Green National Accounts' we will ensure that cost of environmental degradation are clearly
reflected in national accounts. A 'National Environmental Appraisal and Monitoring Authority' will also be
set up. Cleaning of rivers will be done on a large scale and a 'National Mission on Wind Energy' will
streamline efforts to harness wind energy."
"We want a promise from all political parties for water security as it is more important than the food," he
said, who is coordinating with activists across the country to push a water security bill. "In view of
increasing water crisis it is need of the hour to rope in people for the conservation of water bodies," said
Sanjay Singh, the convener of Jal-Jan Jodo campaign. Lenin Raghuvanshi of PVCHR said, "The issue of
water security should be one of the important poll planks for all political parties."
The water activists have also drafter a water security bill, which seeks control of village panchayats and
local bodies over water bodies. According to the draft, every local authority will maintain records of
water bodies and will prohibit the encroachments on water bodies. The panchayat may have all such
powers to ensure the biological, ecological and hydrological integrity of the water body.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Home/Lok-Sabha-Elections-2014/News/Varanasi-activists-seekinclusion-of-water-security-in-poll-agenda-of-parties/articleshow/33008944.cms
Endangered dolphin spotted
KATHMANDU, APR 02 - A team of researchers were treated with a rare sighting of a critically endangered
Gangetic river dolphin in the Narayani river on Monday morning.
An adult dolphin was spotted at Bhajauli area near Nawalparasi and Chitwan districts by a team of
researchers led by Shambhu Paudel, assistant professor at Kathmandu Forestry College, two decades
after its species was last seen by researcher Brian D Smith.
“We could not get the picture of the dolphin, but we did manage to make a short video featuring the
mammal’s movements for a couple of seconds,” said Paudel.
The site where the dolphin was found was far off from human civilisation, which explains why it was
there, Paudel said. “Far from human disturbance and fishing activities, which means abundant supply of
food.”
A research conducted by a senior naturalist, Tej Kumar Shrestha, in 1986 had reported that there were
five Gangetic dolphins in Narayani. The latest spotting of the dolphin is a great news for researchers and
conservationists alike, particularly at a time when the other two river systems—Koshi and Karnali—said
to be the habitats for river dolphins in the country have witnessed an alarming decline of their species.
Three decades ago, Gangetic river dolphins were also found in Mahakali river, but their already waning
population faced annihilation due to intensive human activities and habitat disturbance by dam
constructions, pollution and over fishing.
Smith, who last spotted the Ganges dolphin also known as blind dolphin in 1993, had reported in his
follow-up trips to Narayani in 1994 and 1995 that he did not see any dolphin. No formal sightings of
Gangetic river dolphins were reported in Narayani ever since.
In 2000, researchers duo Shanta Raj Jnwali and Ukesh Raj Bhuju had concluded that that Karnali and
Koshi were the only rivers in the country harbouring river dolphins. The sighting of blind dolphin in
Narayani has disproved the conclusion.
Paudel’s research study conducted in 2011 on ‘Factor assessment of the Ganges River Dolphin , Platanista
gangetica, movement in the Karnali River System of Nepal’ had found that every year the population
distribution of Gangetic dolphins, and its range has been declining by 0.495 and 1.165 km since 1982 in
Karnali river, one of the prime habitats of these species.
During the research period performed in two phases during winter in 2011, a maximum of four individual
dolphins were recorded as dominantly resident populations along the mainstream Karnali, while no
sightings were recorded in the river’s feeder system, Mohana and Geruwa.
The study had concluded that if the present rate of Dolphin s disappearance continues, either the
dolphins will face complete extinction or move into neighbouring Indian River system.
Uttarakhand’s Furious Himalayan Flood Could Bury India’s Hydropower Program
Despite the inherent risks, India is determined to join China, Bhutan, Nepal, and Pakistan in turning the
Himalayas into the Saudi Arabia of hydroelectric energy. Almost 300 big hydropower projects are under
construction or proposed for India’s five Himalayan states, according to the Central Electric Authority.
“The government wants to put dams on every river in the Himalayas”
The most turbulent stretches of many Himalayan rivers are scheduled to support five or six new dams,
one every 10 kilometers or so. That’s more utility-scale installations than are planned for the world’s
other new hydropower production zones – the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia, the Amazon Basin,
and the Andes mountains, according to assessments by power authorities in those regions.
“The government wants to put dams on every river in the Himalayas,” said Prakash Nautiyal, a fisheries
biologist and for decades a professor of zoology at the Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University in
this Alaknanda River city of 150,000 residents. “You know the car culture of Delhi and Mumbai? Bumper
to bumper. That’s what they want to do in the Himalayas with dams. Bumper to bumper.”
The Himalayas are still forming, still rising – producing one of the most active earthquake zones in the
world. The fierce drenchings from annual summer monsoons erupt in regular flash floods that undermine
the soils of vertical slopes, cause monstrous landslides, and episodically lay waste to big stretches of the
region’s serpentine one-way-in, one-way-out highways. In a typical year, dozens of people drown, are
buried, or swept away by floods in India’s Himalayan states.
Technically Complex and Hazardous Challenge
The unavoidable challenge that India’s engineers and contractors recognized but largely ignored,
according to a flurry of government and university studies dating to the early 1990s, was whether the
truculent mountain range would accept such intensive industrial intrusion. Late last spring, at the start of
the heaviest monsoon season in memory, the Himalayas answered that question.
Kedarnath_flood
On June 16 and June 17, 2013, the mountains unleashed two days of monstrous floods that killed about
6,000 people, according to estimates from the Uttarakhand government. Survivors and researchers at the
Wadia Institute for Himalayan Geology put the death toll at 30,000. Some 800 battered bodies were
recovered and 5,200 others were declared missing.
The flooding wiped away at least six villages, buried dozens of others in mud, wrecked over 1,000
kilometers of highways, and dumped hundreds of buildings into the furious waters.
Flood’s Effects on Dam Construction
The June flood also may have drowned India’s long campaign to diversify its energy production with big
Himalayan hydropower projects.
In the first of three articles for “Choke Point: India,” an investigation of global energy, water, and farm
production trends conducted in collaboration with the Wilson Center, Circle of Blue documents that the
flood seriously damaged at least 10 big hydro projects in operation and under construction in
Uttarakhand. Another 19 small hydropower projects that generate under 25 megawatts were destroyed.
The findings are based on Circle of Blue’s field reporting in December and January, state and national
media dispatches, independent news services, and trade journal notices. We were assisted by the South
Asia Network on Dams and Rivers, a non-profit advocacy group, and reports posted on Down to Earth, an
online New Delhi-based environmental news site affiliated with the Center for Science and Environment.
The Central and state government authorities, and private dam developers, have said next to nothing
about the extent of the damage in news releases, on their web sites, or in public statements. Repeated
efforts by Circle of Blue to reach business executives and government regulators by email and phone calls
were ignored. The information blackout is so sweeping that even the website of the National
Hydroelectric Power Corporation, the state-owned hydropower builder and operator, had until recently
been offline for months.
The most heavily damaged projects, according to Circle of Blue’s findings, include:
The 400-megawatt Vishnuprayag Hydroelectric Project, upriver from Srinagar along the Alaknanda River,
was buried beneath 20 meters of rubble that also filled its water storage lake and likely wrecked the
mouth of the penstock, the pipe that transports water to the powerhouse downstream.
A second dam under construction on the Mandakini River, the 76-megawatt Phata-Byung Hydroelectric
Project, washed away.
The 400-megawatt Vishnuprayag Hydroelectric Project was buried beneath 20 meters of rubble
The 99-megawatt Singoli-Bhatwari Hydroelectric Project downstream on the Mandakini, a major
tributary of the Alaknanda, was so aggressively pummeled by boulders that big chunks of concrete were
gouged out of its base and the patches of steel reinforcing rods of two support towers were bent like
broken wheat.
The powerhouse and turbines of the 330-megawatt Alaknanda Hydro Power Project in Srinagar were
inundated with mud and silt just weeks before it was scheduled to begin operating.
A landslide blocked the end of the water discharge tunnel at the 280-megawatt Dhauliganga project near
the border with Nepal. The plug caused a backup that submerged the entire turbine room constructed
deep inside the hill near the dam, causing at least $50 million in damage and a shutdown that has still not
ended, said dam operators.
The Uttarakhand flood surprised India with its fury. Energy authorities in Asia and in North America have
said the flood caused the most damage to a nation’s hydropower infrastructure since 1975, when rains
from a typhoon overwhelmed the Banqiao Dam and 61 smaller dams in central China, killing 171,000
people.
In the history of energy disasters, the Uttarakhand flood struck the global hydropower industry with the
same force that the reactor meltdowns at Three Mile Island (U.S. 1979), Chernobyl (Soviet Union, 1986),
and Fukushima (Japan, 2011) battered the nuclear power sector.
“The disaster is a costly wake-up call,” said Peter Bosshard, the policy director at International Rivers, a
California-based non-profit research and river protection group that primarily operates in Asia, Africa,
and Latin America. “It shows that nature will strike back if we disregard the ecological limits of fragile
regions like the Himalayas through reckless dam building and other infrastructure development. We can
only expect such disasters to happen more frequently under a changing climate.”
Court Intervention
India’s Supreme Court reached essentially the same conclusion. Last August 13, eight weeks after the
flood, two Supreme Court judges, ruling in a case involving the 330-megawatt Alaknanda Hydro Power
Project, issued an order that indefinitely prohibited the Central and state governments from granting any
more permits for hydroelectric projects in Uttarakhand. The order essentially shut down new
hydropower development in India’s 27th state.
“We are very much concerned about the mushrooming of a large number of hydroelectric projects in
Uttarakhand and its impact on the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi river basins,” wrote Justices K.S.
Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra. “Various studies also indicate that in the upper Ganga area, there are
large and small hydropower projects. The cumulative impact of those project components like dams,
tunnels, blasting, muck disposal, mining, deforestation, etc. on the ecosystem has yet to be scientifically
examined.”
The Supreme Court’s intervention also came with a directive to the Ministry of Environment and Forests,
the principal regulatory agency, to form a special commission to study the safety and merits of continuing
with constructing dams in India’s most important hydropower state.
The commission, appointed last year, is unlikely to issue its conclusions until after the national election
results are announced in mid-May. Those findings, and their implementation, also are likely to be
overseen by the National Green Tribunal, a four-year-old panel of senior jurists that rules on India’s big
environmental cases.
In August, two weeks after the Supreme Court order, the Tribunal said it would hear a case involving
flood damage that citizens here in Srinagar said was amplified by the Alaknanda hydropower dam. The
Tribunal also is monitoring repairs and construction at the damaged Vishnuprayag dam. The Tribunal’s
presence is a clear indication that its jurists will closely follow other legal and regulatory aspects of the
disaster.
Surly Mountains
In December and January, the dry season in Uttarakhand, the Alaknanda and Mandakini Rivers were clear
and blue with no angry crest at all. Yet both rivers, and several more affected by the June flood, reflected
the grimness of what happened and the strain of what could easily happen again later this year.
The road transport network has not been fully repaired. Transportation is so difficult, newspapers
reported in December, that 1,200 tons of food could not be distributed and rotted in place. Hundreds of
people are homeless.
India’s political leaders are determined to harness the power of water
The gathering danger is not close to being lifted from Uttarakhand’s magnificent and hardened
Himalayan valleys. So much silt and mud and boulders washed off the hillsides during the June 2013 flood
that they filled the riverbeds. The rivers of the Alaknanda and Bhaghirati basin run now on new bottoms
that are much higher – in some places 30 to 75 meters higher than they were before the flood, according
to estimates by residents and the Geological Survey of India.
Unless that rubble is removed, which amounts to a monumental and costly excavation project and has
not started, the approaching monsoon season could easily overflow riverbanks and cause more flood
damage to dams and communities this summer.
India’s political leaders are determined to harness the power of water flowing down these steep
mountain gorges. India estimates its hydropower generating capacity is 150,000 megawatts, more than
all nations but China, Brazil, and Canada. Most of the new capacity was planned for the world’s tallest
and most dangerous mountains range. But hydro generating capacity, now just over 40,000 megawatts or
14 percent of the country’s total electrical generating capacity, is growing little more than 1,000
megawatts annually, according to the Central Electric Authority.
At that rate, it will take India a century to reach its hydro generating goal. The Himalayas, like a daredevil
avenger, impede development and are exacting their vengeance with lingering seasons of menace.
http://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2014/04/uttarakhands-furious-himalayan-flood-bury-indiashydropower-program/#.Uz-kavmSz1Y
March 2014
Let down environmentalists nurse no hopes of future govt reducing Ganga pollution levels
VARANASI: As far as taking steps to reverse pollution of Ganga is concerned, there is little done by the
Bharatiya Janata Party or the Congress to help them earn votes. The Congress-led UPA did practically
nothing to improve the state of the river, while pollution level of rivers in Gujarat, whose chief minister
Narendra Modi is BJP's PM candidate, is too high to expect him to do anything for the Ganga, say experts.
"Let us not go by mere rhetoric. High level of pollution in Gujarat rivers, including the Narmada, expose
tall claims of NaMo on the Ganga. The UPA-II has failed badly in executing any concrete plan for the river.
The Congress secured a substantial number of seats in the 2009 elections in UP and Uttarakhand. It was
the second largest party with 21 seats in UP after Samajwadi Party (23) while in Uttarakhand it won all
five seats. In West Bengal too, the then UPA partner Trinamul Congress won 19 seats and Congress six
seats. But the party did nothing for the Ganga," said champion of environmental causes Rajendra Singh,
popularly known as Waterman of India.
It seldom gets prominence in their agenda, though some parties have included it in their election
manifesto, he lamented, adding that a strong political will is required to save the river.
"Why don't politicians work sincerely to save the holy river if they really want to serve and represent 45
crore people whose survival depends on the Ganga," questions B D Tripathi, noted environmentalist and
member of National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA). "Big leaders are coming to Varanasi to contest
the Lok Sabha election. I urge them to give Ganga top priorityin their agenda. The river could not be
saved until there is strong political will," he said.
Tripathi said a long stretch of the Ganga from Kannauj to Varanasi is highly polluted. "The level of
pollution is increasing by the day. Though former prime minister Indira Gandhi took the matter seriously
after her visit to BHU in 1981 and wrote letters to the chief ministers of UP, Bihar and West Bengal, the
present state of the river is a sad testimony to its neglect," Tripathi added.
"Narendra Modi had raised the issue of the Ganga at his rally in Varanasi in December last year. Let us
see how seriously the issue is taken up by the BJP," said VN Mishra, mahant of Sankat Mochan temple.
"In Varanasi alone, 33 drains are still discharging sewage into Ganga. We cannot imagine a clean
river until there is zero discharge of sewage into it," he said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/specials/lok-sabha-elections-2014/news/Let-downenvironmentalists-nurse-no-hopes-of-future-govt-reducing-Ganga-pollutionlevels/articleshow/32596681.cms?
Tender by this year
The draft design for the 2.1km-long important Ganges barrage has been finalised and the government
plans to float a tender for construction at the end of the year, assuming that the necessary funds are
arranged.
In February, the government sought soft loans from China for 14 of its large projects, including the
Ganges barrage, and China asked for a feasibility study for the barrage to see its potentials.
The study is already done but the government is yet to send the report to China.
The barrage will retain the water of the trans-boundary Ganges, known as the Padma in Bangladesh,
during the monsoon and feed small rivers during the lean season, which will reduce salinity, a major
threat to public health and agriculture in the southwest.
The government had taken up a project in 2009 to conduct a feasibility study for the barrage and make a
design for it.
The feasibility study estimates that the construction of the Ganges barrage will cost a staggering Tk
31,414 crore, but the annual incremental benefit will be Tk 7,340 crore, which means the barrage will pay
for itself within five years.
The feasibility study notes that the soil salinity level in the areas surrounding the south-western rivers,
including the Gorai, Modhumati, Chitra, Nabaganga, Chandana, Mathabhanga, Atai, Bhairav, Betna,
Kobadak, Sibsa and the Baleswar will reduce significantly in the lean period.
Once the barrage is built, a 165km long reservoir from Pangsa upazila, Rajbari, to Pangkha,
Chapainawabganj, with 12.5 metre deep water will be created that will hold 290 crore cubic litres.
For nine months of the year, from mid-October to mid-July, the Ganges barrage will be a reservoir and
during the monsoon, from mid-July to mid-October, all the gates of the barrage will be open.
Three structures at the off-take of the Gorai, the Hisna and the Chandana rivers will supply water from
the reservoir to other rivers.
The barrage will be at Rajbari with a rail bridge on top and have 96 gates -- 78 gates with spillways and 18
sluice gates -- fish passes, and guide bunds on both banks of the Padma.
The construction of two small hydropower plants, one 76 megawatts at the barrage and a 36MW one at
the off-take of the Gorai river, is also under the barrage project.
Around 19 lakh hectares of cropland of saline-hit Khulna and Barisal divisions will come under surface
water irrigation and annually produce another 25 lakh tonnes of rice and 2.4 lakh tonnes of fish.
Nearly a third of the Sundarbans will become a low-salinity area from a high-salinity zone.
“The feasibility report is done and our consultant firm has already finalised the structural design of the
barrage. Now we are vetting the design to see whether something is missing,” said Faruq Ahmed
Mohiuddin, executive engineer, working with the Ganges study project.
After getting 10 months' more time to do the study and make the design, the deadline is now June; but
hopefully the work related to the design would be completed by next month or May, he said.
Bangladesh Water Development Board had signed a deal with an associate organisation of Development
Design Consultant -- a China-Pakistan consortium -- for the design in May 2009.
The board had conducted a pre-feasibility study for the barrage in 2002 but the then BNP government
shelved the board's proposal to go for the study.
The Awami League-led alliance government during its last tenure took up the project seriously and the
board got the go-ahead in 2009.
Following the Farraka barrage going into operation in 1975 across the border, water level of the Ganges
dropped suddenly to almost a third at Hardinge bridge. The once mighty Padma began to fail in feeding
its tributaries and salinity of the soil crept in, even in the largest mangrove forest in the world.
The salinity accumulated over the years in the southwest wreaked havoc on agriculture and put the
health, livelihood and food security of millions of people in 18 coastal districts in jeopardy.
Back in 1973, 0.83 million hectares of land were affected by salinity. The area has now increased to 1.05
million hectares in 93 upazilas, which makes up more than half the coastal land mass in the Ganges
floodplain.
Discussions on the Ganges barrage construction had actually begun in the 1960s when India moved with
its Farakka barrage plan. Tippetts Abbett McCarthy Stratton, a consultant of New York, proposed in 1963
the construction of a counter barrage to the then Pakistan government.
After the signing of the Ganges treaty with India in 1996, Bangladesh began receiving water during the
extreme dry season, from January to May, but the damage had already been done. Salinity had invaded
the southwestern region.
http://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/tender-by-this-year-17577
We should demand the minimum historical flow in the Teesta
Engr. M. Inamul Haque, Chairman, Institute of Water & Environment, Dhaka talks with Shahriar Feroze of
The Daily Star about the disputes relating to the trans-boundary rivers flowing through India and
Bangladesh.
The Daily Star (TDS): Against the backdrop of low-flow along Teesta River's Dalia point in Bangladesh,
what do you think are the main causes?
M. Inamul Haque (MIH): There are two main causes for lowering of the flow of Teesta River: (1) Placing
of obstructions in the tributaries of the Teesta River in Sikkim to stop their winter flows coming down to
the plains. The Sikkim Tourism department is building about 40 dams on its rivers, and other
infrastructures, to make the state 2nd to Goa in India as a tourist destination. Visiting the South
Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People website, we shall get to know that there are 5 existing dams, 4
ongoing and 31 proposed in Teesta upper catchment. These are termed as 'run-off the river' dams, which
are not supposed to affect the river flows. But 'run-off the river' concept is possible only in rainy season
when water is abundant. In dry season, water storage and evaporation loss from the reservoirs reduce
the downstream flows substantially. So, these dams in the hills are killing the Teesta River downstream.
(2) The second major cause is, whatever water comes down from the hills of Sikkim is stopped by the
Gazaldoba Barrage and diverted through a link canal to the Upper Mahananda River. The Upper
Mahananda River falls in the Mechi River in Bihar, which goes through the Fulhar River and reaches the
Ganga River upstream of Farakka Barrage. By this diversion, the River Interlinking Project is being
implemented through canals # 1 & 12. The Teesta water we get in Bangladesh is the regenerated water
downstream of Gazaldoba Barrage and the added flow of the Upper Dharla River arriving from the Duars
of West Bengal.
India has an irrigation project depending on Teesta waters to cover about 9.22 lakhs hectares of land
in Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, and Darjeeling, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and Maldah districts. By now,
more than 1 lakh hectares of land have come under its coverage, and it is increasing every year. This is
the third reason for reducing the Teesta waters flowing towards Bangladesh.
TDS: What should be the minimal amount of water to keep our irrigation system functional?
MIH: In the 37th meeting of the JRC in Delhi, in March 2010, the Bangladesh Water Resources Minister
Ramesh Chandra Roy demanded 50-50 distribution of the Teesta water at Gazaldoba point. At that time
he expressed satisfaction that we were getting 3,500 cusec of water without asking, and said it could be
more. In January 2011, at the secretary level meeting, Bangladesh demanded 8,000 cusec and India
21,000 cusec from the Teesta waters. Together, the demands become 29,000 cusec when the lowest flow
in the river cannot be more than 10,000 cusec.
In my opinion, we should demand the minimum historical flow in the Teesta River towards Bangladesh,
which is not less than 4,500 cusec by any argument. This amount should be primarily to save the life of
the river. A part of this amount can be diverted by the Teesta Barrage for our irrigation system.
TDS: As signing a concrete accord is not possible any time soon, is there an alternate short term
solution?
MIH: According to the PM's advisor Mashiur Rahman, the accord on the table was to measure the Teesta
flow for 17 years, and the agreement was to be signed after that. It appeared in the The Daily Star of
September 3, 2011. How can be that an accord? Measuring the Teesta flow for 17 years was nothing but
eyewash. It was to befool, not to benefit, the people of Bangladesh. Well, the short term accord can be to
distribute the Teesta water arriving at the upstream of the Gazaldoba Barrage on 50-50 basis. This accord
should ensure that no transfer of water from the Teesta basin to the Mechi basin takes place.
TDS: The confusion regarding the quantity of water Teesta river carries has been prevailing for a long
time. How can the actual quantity of water in the river be measured?
MIH: The Ganga water distribution accords (1977 & 1996) are based on its historical flow since 1948.
Teesta has similar records. The present Teesta flow can be measured at four points, (1) the Anderson
Bridge on the Siliguri Gangtok highway to measure water arriving from Sikkim, (2) the upstream of
Gazaldoba Barrage to measure water available for distribution, (3) Domohoni Bridge on Jalpaiguri
Mainaguri Road & Railway to measure the additional flow arriving from Duars, and (4) upstream of the
Teesta Barrage to measure flow arriving in Bangladesh.
TDS: According to information, the usual flow is already being affected by the 5 existing and 4 ongoing
dams in the Teesta upper catchment. What would be the likely situation if more dams are built?
MIH: As more dams are built, very low flow shall arrive from Sikkim in the Teesta River from November
to March, or it could stop. From April, flows arriving from the snowmelt waters of the Himalayas are to
be spilled over the Sikkim dams. In absence of a 50-50 sharing accord at Gazaldoba point, almost no
Teesta water shall flow down to Bangladesh until June.
TDS: If water of a river is to be shared on historical nature of flow then what should we do in case a
country artificially alters its natural course of flow?
MIH: Articles 2a, 3(4), 5, 6(1), 6(3) etc., of the UN Watercourse Convention of 1997 ensures the rights of
co-riparian countries of the common rivers. Bangladesh should immediately ratify this convention, and
pursue India diplomatically to ratify it. In the meantime, we should collect all information from different
sources (not waiting for or depending on the official information arriving from India) to argue on a strong
basis. Simultaneously, we the activists of Bangladesh, should contact and give support to the activists of
India who are opposing dams and diversion of rivers inside their country for environmental reasons.
TDS: What would be your suggestion for securing a confirmed deal regarding stakeholders of Teesta or
any river for that matter?
MIH: India has become a conglomerate of many states, which are exercising their powers on local issues
beyond their official jurisdiction. Paschimbanga is exercising its power on Teesta waters. Assam is
introducing its own local time, different from the rest of India. We have 7 sister states and Paschimbanga
as our neighbours in India. In this prevailing situation, our diplomacy should extend to the state level also,
maybe through some unofficial channels. On bilateral matters between sovereign states, if diplomacy
deals with the interest of the people of both the countries, it shall win. Sikkim, Paschimbanga and
Bangladesh should have common interests on the Teesta River; Assam and Bangladesh on the
Brahmaputra River; Assam, Manipur and Bangladesh on the Barak River; Tripura and Bangladesh on the
Khowai, Monu, Gomti and Muhuri Rivers; Meghalaya and Bangladesh on the Someswari, Rakti, Chalti,
Dhala and Sari Rivers; etc. We should work in this line.
http://www.thedailystar.net/op-ed/we-should-demand-the-minimum-historical-flow-in-the-teesta16341
Annual Ganga Dolphin Census Report would be prepared from the next year
Report by India Education bureau, New Delhi:Over 40 Ganga Dolphin experts and ecologists in a two-day
workshop in New Delhi under the aegis of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in association with
WWF-India, deliberated on key actions needed to implement the Ganga Dolphin Action Plan (GDAP) and
have come to conclude that a Ganga Dolphin Census Survey be done annually post-Monsoon and a
Ganga Dolphin Census Report be published every year. The first ever integrated and coordinated survey
with standard protocol would be taken up in the states on the main stem of Ganga and its major
tributaries which are habitats of Ganga Dolphins and would be surveyed this year post –monsoon.
Addressing the workshop on its objectives and Operationalisation of Ganga Dolphin Action Plan, Mr. Rajiv
Ranjan Mishra, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests and Mission Director, NMCG expressed
his concerns on expediting the efforts for conservation of Ganga Dolphins. One of the key objectives of
National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) is to ensure a clean and healthy Ganga. Ganga Dolphin has
been the primary species for conservation and a crucial indicator of the health of River Ganga.”
Mr. Ravi Singh, CEO & Secretary General, WWF-India, Prof. R. K. Sinha, NGRBA expert member, Prof. Sunil
Choudhary, VBREC, Prof. Vinod Tare, Convenor of IIT Consortium on GRBMP, Dr. Genevieve Connors of
the World Bank and Mr. Shiv Pal Singh, Joint Director (Wildlife), Ministry of Environment & Forests also
raised various issues and concerns on different aspects of Ganga Dolphin Conservation efforts on the
ground.
“Firstly, many riverine communities are linked to the rivers, and it is important to engage them in
conservation of the Ganga Dolphin, thereby making them active agents of change. Most of us are aware
of the challenges posed to the Ganga Dolphin’s habitat. We have to channelize our technical capabilities
to conservation of this species”, said Mr. Ravi Singh, CEO & Secretary General, WWF-India.
Threats and challenges posed to the national aquatic animal- Ganga Dolphin, their population status
surveys, survey protocol standardisation, methodology, threat assessment, communities reserves and
community involvement, rescue and rehabilitation, capacity building, education and awareness, critical
water flows, commercial fishing and sand mining, etc., were discussed threadbare by the experts and
timelines were chalked out for taking up the operationalisation of GDAP. The workshop participants also
contemplated on identification and declaration of critical Dolphin stretches as protected areas along with
developing management plans for existing Dolphin sanctuaries and community led Dolphin conservation
programme.
It was concluded that all the State Forest Departments of the Ganga basin states will establish a
decentralised interpretation centre on Dolphin conservation at critical locations to spread awareness
about the Ganges Dolphin. A Dolphin communication and outreach plan will be developed alongside
targeting specific education and outreach modules. To protect the River Dolphin, a call centre system for
‘alert and rescue’ will be set up by State Forest Departments and fishermen will be trained for immediate
release accidental catches of Ganga Dolphins. Some emerging areas of targeted research focussed on
Ganga Dolphin were also discussed and pilot studies would be taken up towards conservation efforts.
It may be highlighted here that Ganga Dolphin is facing threats to its very existence and is categorised as
endangered not only in the Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, in Appendix I of the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) but also in Appendix II of the
Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and is placed as endangered on the Red List of the International
Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN).
http://indiaeducationdiary.in/Shownews.asp?newsid=28457
UCLA scientists find shortcut to estimating a river's volume
People around the world depend on rivers for their water supply. So it’s important to understand how
much water a river holds. Researchers at UCLA have found a new way to calculate a river’s volume
without ever stepping into it.
When the Ganges River floods, engineers in India know how to respond because they measure how wide
the river is, how deep it is, and how fast it’s moving. But India doesn’t share that information with
Bangladesh, downstream – so the swollen river hits that country harder.
“Many other countries consider river flow data to be state secrets,” said UCLA’s Laurence Smith.
He and his student, Colin Gleason, have figured out a way to make river discharge more transparent.
Now, even where it’s not possible to take direct measurements of a river, hydrologists can make a very
good estimate of a river’s volume using pictures collected from space.
“The availability of satellite images for this purpose and for other purposes has exploded in the last 20
years,” he said.
Smith says Gleason used “brute force” – a lot of computer time, lines and lines and lines of code – to
study long-used equations for calculating a river’s volume. They’re rooted in geometry, length, times
width, times depth, but are far more complicated.
“What Colin and I found is that there’s a redundancy hidden inside these classic equations that nobody
discovered in sixty years,” Smith said.
In other words, he and Gleason found a shortcut through that math.
Using those images, and a lot of computer time, Smith and Gleason confirmed their technique by
comparing data and observations about several rivers, including the mighty Mississippi. Smith says this
new tool can help people better understand how much water is in the world’s rivers – regardless of
where a country’s borders fall.
The study is published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
http://www.scpr.org/blogs/environment/2014/03/17/16101/ucla-scientists-find-shortcut-to-estimatinga-rive/
Bangladesh wants more water accords with India
Nay Pyi Taw, March 4 (IANS): Despite decades-old disputes over sharing of waters between Bangladesh
and India, notably from the Teesta river, Dhaka hopes it can finalise a host of treaties with New Delhi.
"Modalities need to be found for the sharing of water resources, especially of common waters,"
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told the BIMSTEC Summit in this Myanmar capital.
"As, for example, Bangladesh and India are sharing the waters of river Ganga with the signing of the 30year-old Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, with others to follow soon," she said at the summit, where the
Indian side is being led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
As many as 54 rivers are shared by India and Bangladesh and tensions continue between them despite a
Joint River Commission seeking solutions since 1972.
The most recent dispute has been over Teesta river -- which originates in Sikkim -- and for which India
was on the verge of signing a pact with Bangladesh, but had to withdraw after West Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee declined to give her nod.
Hasina also said the large untapped energy potential in the BIMSTEC region, especially hydro projects,
needed to be explored bilaterally and trilaterally through collaborative projects.
"The recent experience of cross-border power sharing between Bangladesh and India would help finalise
plans covering these efforts," she said.
Besides India, Bangladesh and Myanmar, the BIMSTEc regional grouping comprises Nepal, Bhutan, Sri
Lanka and Thailand, accounting for 21 percent of the global population and $2.5 trillion in GDP
764 industries, 5 states behind Ganga pollution, National Green Tribunal informed
NOIDA: In a case related to pollution of the Ganga, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) was informed on
Friday that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has identified 764 grossly polluting industries in
five states on the main stem of the river and its tributaries.
The information was provided to the tribunal through a joint affidavit filed by the Union Environment
Ministry and the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA). As per the affidavit, a copy of which is
with TOI, the CPCB has issued notices to units which are not complying with pollution control norms
while discharging their effluents into the river. CPCB had conducted an inspection of grossly polluting
industries along the Ganga River in the period between August 2011 and August 2013.
It has been mentioned in the affidavit that the 764 industries identified as grossly polluting by CPCB are
located in Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
MoEF and the NGRBA have furnished this information in a case in which environmental activists had
alleged that untreated effluents drained by a couple of industries into the Simbhaoli drain in Ghaziabad,
which ultimately empties into the Ganga, is polluting river waters.
The sugar industry and the dairy products' manufacturing unit, alleged to be releasing untreated and
toxic effluents into the Ganga via the Simbhaoli drain, figure among the 764 grossly polluting industries
identified by the CPCB.
The UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) has meanwhile imposed a stay upon operations of the distillery
unit of the sugar industry. Operations of the distillery unit have been retrained till it is granted consent by
the UPPCB.
Earlier this month, the member-secretaries of CPCB and UPPCB had jointly carried out an inspection of
these units acting upon orders of the principal bench of the tribunal. Gross irregularities in adherence to
pollution control norms had been detected by the two-member panel following the joint inspection.
Documentry made to show Ganga's plight
VARANASI: A group of professors and students from University of Ottawa, Canada has joined hands with
Banaras Hindu University (BHU) teachers and students for a project 'Sacred River: Art and technology'
that includes a documentary film based on the plight of the Ganga.
The documentary, which in the words of its director Jennifer Macklem, is a fictionalized truth, also saw its
lead character approaching IIT-BHU to get the Ganga water tested in lab to reveal that people who love
and worship the river were actually hurting it due to lack of awareness.
Jennifer Macklem, an associate professor, department of visual arts, University of Ottawa told TOI that
the projects aims at an international exchange of artists, facilitated by engineer- technologists, while
examining and responding in a creative way to the complex interplay of environmental degradation and
cultural and spiritual traditions concerning the river Ganga. "I hope that the collaboration builds a
dialogue between the two universities. It will ultimately contribute conceptually and artistically to a
wider cause of environmental protection for natural resources, while supporting innovative artistic
practices that bridge the divides between art, technologies of science and spiritual practices," she said
further adding that beyond the scope of this pilot project, but as an anticipated outcome, will be the start
of an overarching educational and cultural institution growing out of this series of exchanges between
the department of visual arts at the University of Ottawa and BHU.
PK Mishra, coordinator, technology, Business Incubation (TBI) Malaviya Centre for Innovation, Incubation
and Entrepreneurship (MCIIE), IIT,BHU, who played himself in the documentary film, felt that making of
the film allowed him to understand the Ganga as a river and as the spiritual force, in a better way.
"In the film I am supposed to explain the protagonist the condition of the water of Ganga, which I did and
to give it a real touch I tested the water in reality. I was pleasantly surprised with the result as it showed
that the river still has high oxygen carrying capacity as compared to other rivers across the word. And it
just needs some breathing time in the form of more water and less activities like bathing and washing
clothes," said Mishra.
Apart from Jennifer other members in the project include professor David Taylor, masters student David
Kaarsemaker from the University of Ottawa, Suresh K Nair, faculty of visual arts, BHU.
Prateek Mahant an under graduate student, BHU plays the main lead of the one-hour documentary film
and Mukesh Tiwari, a student visual art, BHU assisted the director.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/Documentry-made-to-show-Gangasplight/articleshow/31524514.cms
Dhaka worried over declining Teesta water
Dhaka has expressed concern about the declining flow in the trans-boundary river Teesta.
It voiced its concern at Bangladesh-India Joint Rivers Commission's technical committee meeting in the
capital yesterday.
“We've raised the Teesta issue and have been told that it was under consideration at an appropriate level
of the Indian government,” Mir Sazzad Hossain, member of the JRC Bangladesh, told The Daily Star.
The technical committee discussed some regular issues including the water level of the Padma (the
Ganges in India) and erosion of the Bangladesh-India bordering rivers. The committee will sit for a followup meeting in Kolkata tomorrow.
“We'll sit for two more meetings in Kolkata to discuss some other issues,” mentioned Sazzad, who will
lead a five-member Bangladesh delegation.
The team will visit the Farakka Barrage to measure the water level there under the Ganges Water Sharing
Treaty, 1996.
A three-member Indian delegation led by Saumitra Kumar Halder, general manager of Farakka Barrage,
arrived in Dhaka on March 5. The team visited the Hardinge Bridge point of the Padma river to measure
the water level there. http://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/dhaka-worried-over-declining-teestawater-14761
February 2014
'Government not concerned about protecting Ganga'
The Ganga river is more polluted now than what it was in 1985, when the Ganga Action Plan was
launched, and the construction of dams, barrages, canals continuously pose a threat to it, Acharya
Jeetendra of the Ganga Mahasabha said Monday.
"The entire Ganga issue has been made a political issue and political parties, both at state level and at the
centre, are doing politics in the sake of cleaning up the Ganga river to gain the votes of the communities
concerned for the river," he said, addressing the media in the capital.
He said though the UPA government last year formed a committee constituting academicians from seven
Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to find out ways to protect the river, the government has not yet
implemented the committee's recommendations.
"It is very important that the government implements the findings of the report, so that the river can be
protected from getting polluted and meeting the consequences that the Yamuna river has suffered in the
national capital because of the pollutants released by industries into the river," he added.
"Various NGOs and groups across the country will stage a protest here Feb 22 demanding the central
government to take initiatives against the posing threats to the Ganga river," Acharya Jeetendra said.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/government-not-concerned-about-protectingganga-114021701530_1.html
Ganga teeming with deadly superbugs: Study
LONDON: The Ganga is teeming with multi-drug resistant superbugs, including the deadly NDM-1 virus,
and their levels peak during the annual pilgrimage season, says a new study.
Experts from UK's Newcastle University and the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, sampled water and
sediments at seven sites along the upper Ganga and found that in May-June , when millions of pilgrims
travel to Rishikesh and Haridwar , levels of resistance genes that lead to "superbugs" were about 60
times higher than other times of the year.
The NDM-1 was first identified in New Delhi and coded by the resistant gene blaNDM-1 . Until recently,
strains that carry blaNDM-1 were only found in clinical settings or hospitals but in 2008, blaNDM-1
positive strains were found in surface waters in Delhi. Since then, blaNDM-1 has been found elsewhere in
the world, including new variants.
By comparing water quality of the upper Ganga in February and again in June, the team showed that
levels of blaNDM-1 were 20 times higher per capita during the pilgrimage season than at other times.
Monitoring levels of other contaminants in the water, the study found overloading of waste treatment
facilities was likely to blame and that in many cases, untreated sewage was going straight into the river
where the pilgrims bathe.
"The bugs and their genes are carried in people's guts," said professor David Graham , an environmental
engineer based at Newcastle University who has spent more than 10 years studying the environmental
transmission of antibiotic resistance around the world. "If untreated wastes get into the water supply,
resistance potential in the wastes can pass to the next person and spiraling increases in resistance can
occur."
"This isn't a local problem - it's a global one. We studied pilgrimage areas because we suspected such
locations would provide new information about resistance transmission via the environment . And it has temporary visitors from outside the region overload local waste handling systems, which seasonally
reduces water quality at the normally pristine sites," Graham said.
The team says it is important to protect people visiting and living at these sites while also making sure
nothing interferes with important religious practices. They argue that preventing the spread of resistance
genes that promote life-threatening bacteria could be achieved by improving waste management at key
pilgrimage sites.
"What humans have done by excess use of antibiotics is accelerate the rate of evolution , creating a
world of resistant strains that never existed before. Through the overuse of antibiotics, contamination of
drinking water and other factors, we have exponentially speeded-up the rate at which superbugs might
develop. For example, when a new drug is developed , natural bacteria can rapidly adapt and become
resistant ; therefore very few new drugs are in the pipeline because it simply isn't cost-effective to make
them," Graham said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Ganga-teeming-with-deadly-superbugsStudy/articleshow/30592436.cms
The Ancient Ganges River Fights for Existence
India’s severely polluted Ganges River, or Ganga, will soon join the “status” of some of the world famous
rivers like Ottawa, Hudson, Thames, and Brisbane—all of which are protected and conserved by national
legislation.
The Prime Minister’s Office has directed the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests to draft a
legislation to protect and safeguard the free flow of Ganga. The step is seen as a landmark decision by
environmentalists as over the last 28 years Indian government has already spent more than rupees 5,000
crore ($806.192 million) on various plans to clean the holy river.
“We had been asking for a central legislation for conservation of the national river Ganga for a long time.
Unlike India, the major rivers elsewhere had legislation enacted by their respective countries for their
protection and conservation,” said Rajendra Singh, former member of the National Ganga River Basin
Authority (NGRBA), according to a report by Down To Earth, a science and environment magazine.
The first attempt to clean the sacred national river, which travels through five states with its 14
tributaries spread over 2,525 km, was made in 1986 with the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) launched by the
then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Professor B.D. Tripathi, yet another expert from NGRBA, said in a report by the Livemint that the GAP
project failed to deliver because there was no co-ordination between the central government and states.
“The whole plan of the government while setting up the NGRBA was to de-pollute Ganga, but you cannot
just look at the pollution levels now. The fight is now for the existence of Ganga,” he said.
Tripathi said that projects worth rupees 7,000 crore ($1128.668 million) are under consideration by
various ministries and departments at different levels related to Ganga.
The NGRBA was formed in 2008, headed by the prime minister, to clean and de-pollute the river. In 2012,
the authority’s members then proposed the draft of National River Ganga (Conservation and
Management) Act to the prime minister. However, in September 2013, some key members later resigned
from the NGRBA in order to protest against the government’s inefficiency to take adequate actions to
save the river.
The Livemint report said that the draft law would ensure a minimum water flow at different locations in
different seasons, along the entire length of the Ganga as well as its tributaries, while promoting
sustainable farming and water-use efficiency. The proposed law would create new mechanisms for
implementing preventive and corrective approaches, empowering authorities to regulate the discharge
of wastewater, industrial effluents, and management of municipal solid waste.
Recently, the Prime Minister’s Office has asked the environment ministry to set up an inter-ministerial
committee with the environment secretary as its chairman, while the current National Mission for Clean
Ganga (NMCG) will act as the secretariat for the committee.
“Perhaps, the prime minister has now decided to look at the draft. It is indeed a positive step towards
protecting the Ganga,” Singh said in the Down To Earth report.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/515359-the-ancient-ganges-river-fight-for-existence/
Excess water in rivers washes away nesting sites of turtles, birds
KANPUR: Release of excessive water from various dams and barrages for bathing during Magh Mela at
Allahabad and unseasonal rainfall in the region have affected the nesting of hard-shell turtles and birds in
Ganga, Yamuna and Chambal rivers.
Stretches of these rivers are widely known for nesting of hard-shell turtles during this time of the year.
Around 2,500 cusec of water was released by Narora Dam in the recent past on the occasion of Makar
Sankranti and other 'snans' (bathings), sources said. It washed away sand-dune islands in the rivers.
The sandy banks and sand-dune islands in the midstream are considered to be the favourite sites and
congenial place for nesting of hard-shell turtles.
Wildlife experts say that around 12 or 13 species of turtles are found in Ganga. In Yamuna, eight to nine
species are found, while Chambal is home to around nine species of turtles.
However, due to natural and man-made disasters over the last few years, wildlife activists expressed
concern over the destruction of the nesting sites of the endangered species. It could be due to excess
release of water into the Ganga from Narora dam in Aligarh, besides Hathnikund barrage in Haryana and
other reservoirs.
"Following excess release of water from dams and barrages, the nesting of endangered hard-shell species
of turtles and ground-nesting birds gets affected. There are points, where contours in the Chambal river
have changed and the sand-dune islands have eroded," said Rajiv Chauhan, secretary, Society for
Conservation of Nature.
"The nesting season of hard-shell turtles usually starts from February, but very few nesting sites were
sighted this year," said a forest department official in Etawah.
Another activist claimed that nesting of hard-shell turtles is a routine feature during this time of the year.
A major stretch in the downstream, starting from Bateshwar in Agra upto Sangam in Allahabad, is
regarded as the nesting area for hard as well as soft shell turtles.
The residents of Bateshwar say that more than half-a-dozen varieties of tortoises, including pangshura
tecta, pangshura tentoria, the red-crowned roofed turtle (batagur kachuga) and three-striped roofed
turtle, batagur dhongoka are found here.
"Females come on the sand banks and sand-dune islands to nest. They dig a hole in the sand, where 1020 eggs are laid at a time," said an expert.
"It is an environmental loss. We would soon conduct a survey and apprise our seniors about the issue,"
said Manik Chandra Yadav, district forest officer of Etawah
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/Excess-water-in-rivers-washes-away-nesting-sites-ofturtles-birds/articleshow/30642546.cms
The Padma Diary
Bangladesh and river: these two are so interconnected that the country is called 'the land of rivers'.
Rivers -- flowing through this delta -- have a huge impact on the lifestyle, livelihood and culture of the
people. Padma, the name used in Bangladesh for a major trans-boundary river known in India as the
main distributary of the Ganges, originates from Gangotri glacier of the Himalayas. The once-mighty river
is getting narrower with time due to changes in its course, climate change and massive pollution. In
monsoon, the devastating character of Padma causes catastrophic flood and erosion. The river has many
faces: sometimes it's serene and sometimes it's menacing. However, there is a deep bond between river
and life; river is the lifeblood of Bangladesh. Lives of the people are flexible like the curves of rivers,
rhythmic like the waves, fierce like storms, and playful like reflection
http://www.thedailystar.net/shout/the-padma-diary-11909
In a first, PMO approves special legislation to protect the Ganga
http://www.livemint.com/Politics/BTqU9ru5KOKpQmazM0ScJK/In-a-first-PMO-approves-speciallegislation-to-protect-the.html
Ganga exhibition stresses need to protect rivers
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2014-02-13/allahabad/47304087_1_ganga-exhibition-gangariver-basin-authority-magh-mela-area
Chief minister launches Ganga river front, other projects
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2014-02-13/patna/47304140_1_street-vendors-watersupply-project-cm-nitish-kumar
Ganga in Kanpur laden with hazardous toxic metals: AU physicists
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2014-02-14/allahabad/47335280_1_leather-industry-wastewater-naurikeda
Bharati threatens mass protest against pollution in Ganga
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2014-02-15/kanpur/47358564_1_river-ganga-holy-riveruma-bharati
Inherent contradictions plague CPCB report
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2014-02-15/varanasi/47358487_1_mld-sewage-treatmentcapacity
West Bengal blames Centre for not releasing funds to check erosion
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/west-bengal-blames-centre-for-not-releasingfunds-to-check-erosion/article5684704.ece
BJP will cancel projects affecting course of Ganga: Swaraj
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/bjp-will-cancel-projects-affecting-course-of-gangaswaraj-114021700032_1.html
Ganga's plight discussed
VARANASI: A twelve-member group, including three environmentalists from Sydney, met mahant of
Sankat Mochan Temple, Pandit Vishwambhar Nath Mishra on Thursday.
Mishra said that members of the group wanted to understand the work of Swachcha Ganga Laboratory of
the Sankat Mochan Foundation while discussing the plight of holy river. The members were interested in
the Indian meditation practices. The members paid homage to late Veerbhadra Mishra, the past mahant
of Sankat Mochan Temple.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/Gangas-plight-discussed/articleshow/29980941.cms
India, Sudan need to intensify ties: Salman Khurshid
KHARTOUM: India and Sudan need to further intensify political, economic, capacity building and cultural
ties for a better common future, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said today.
"We need to further intensify our political, economic, capacity building and cultural ties for a better
common future. The Nile and the Ganges are mighty rivers by themselves, but when they join hands, no
might in the world will be able to stop their natural flow and progress," Khurshid said after he arrived
here on the final leg of his three-nation tour of Morocco, Tunisia and Sudan.
Khurshid thanked his counterpart Ali Ahmed Karti for facilitating "fruitful discussions" to find a way
forward in the historical and traditional bilateral relationship. He pointed out that India and Sudan enjoy
an active relationship in both political and economic terms.
"In the last one year, we saw visits of our ministerial colleagues from Sudan. Business visits also
continued putting the bilateral trade on a positive trend line," Khurshid said in a statement. "Our bilateral
trade figures are expected to reach a figure of close to USD 1 billion by the time we end the Indian
financial year of 2013-14 on March 31, 2014," he said.
Khurshid stressed that there were a number of complementarities in bilateral trade which needed to be
utilised for further deepening economic engagement. On the political front, Khurshid pointed out that
the Foreign Office consultation was held in November 2013, which was highly successful.
"Based on the recommendations of our two delegations, it has been decided to hold the meetings of
the Joint Ministerial Commission and business-to-business Joint Business Council within this year. Before
the end of the year, the next round of Foreign Office Consultations would again review the progress of
our engagement," he said. Khurshid noted that Indian businesses were very active and investing abroad
in a significantly large number.
"They are present in Sudan in sectors such as energy, retail marketing, mining, agriculture,
pharmaceuticals etc," he said, noting that total investments would be appreciable and close to US $ 2.8
to 3 billion.
He identified capacity building in human resources, infrastructure and industrial processes as the top
priority initiative of Indian foreign policy towards Sudan.
"Institution building is an important part for capacity enhancement and, in this respect; we are currently
engaged in setting up of an English language training center in Khartoum and a Vocational Training
Center in Ad-Damar. "In our efforts concerning infrastructure development in Sudan, one of the larger
projects underway is the Kosti-based power plant with an installed capacity of 500 MW. I hope that it will
be completed very soon and handed to the people of Sudan," he said.
"We are also engaged in construction and commissioning of a sugar plant at Mashkour," he
added. http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-02-04/news/47004917_1_salman-khurshidali-ahmed-karti-sudan
January 2014
Devotees Throng Magh Mela in Allahabad (Photo Essay)
http://www.newindianexpress.com/photos/nation/Devotees-Throng-Magh-Mela-inAllahabad/2014/01/26/article2021148.ece1
Mass meditation held along Ganga heralding arrival of spring
A spiritual organisation today held collective meditation along the banks of the Ganga river here to usher
in the spring season. Highlighting the significance of group meditation along the shores of the river,
Gayatri Parivar chief Shaila Jiji said the "practise is ancient and highly effective in invoking the divine in
times of crises."
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/mass-meditation-held-along-ganga-heraldingarrival-of-spring-114020300657_1.html
Rising Ganga causes anxiety before Mauni great bath
SANGAM (Allahabad): Heavy rains in the past few days have caused a sudden rise in the level of
the Ganga with makeshift ghats shifted back as water has begun flooding barricades and sandbags. Even
as lakhs of devotees started arriving for the bath on the auspicious night of Mauni Amavasya on
Thursday, the abnormal rise in the level of water in the Ganga, compared to previous years, is ringing
alarm bells. On Wednesday, the level was 73.50m at Sangam, a full 1.5 m above last year's normal on the
same occasion (Mauni Amavasya on February 10). It's expected to rise further in the next 12 hours when
over 80 lakhs devotees are expected to take a holy dip in Sangam on Thursday.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2014-01-30/india/46827200_1_water-level-ganga-cusec
Ganga activists not against development: Uma Bharti
Senior BJP leader Uma Bharti today sought to dispel the notion that save-Ganga activists are against
development saying they wanted to keep the river clean and flowing. Addressing a seminar on Ganga
Samvad here, Bharti said, "We are not averse to development or against the hydel projects being
constructed on the Ganga. All we want is that the mighty river should be made clean and its flow remains
uninterrupted.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/4356923_Ganga-activists-not-against-development--Uma-Bharti-
India - Detailed report to inter-link Bihar rivers read
An ambitious project to mitigate flood damage in Bihar has taken a major step forward with a central
agency finalising the detailed project report for linking four intra-state rivers which would help protect
three districts from floods.
The multi-purpose project, which envisages diversion of 492 cumecs of flood water from Burhi Gandak
river to Baya/Ganga river, would also augment irrigation of over a lakh hectares of farmland.
DPR, prepared by the National Water Development Agency (NWDA), is a crucial step in the process of
interlinking rivers that enables a state government to approach the Central Water Commission (CWC) for
further clearances.
According to the report, interlinking of the four rivers -- Gandak, Noon, Baya and Ganga -- would protect
three districts of Samastipur, Begusarai and Khagaria in the flood-prone state from devastation caused
during annual floods.
While the three districts collectively record flood damage to the tune of Rs 204.73 crore annually,
diverting flood waters would save Rs 143.31 crore.
It would also pave the way for enhancing irrigation of 1.26 lakh hectares of lands proposed during kharif
season, giving irrigation benefits worth Rs 587.10 crore.
Estimated at a total cost of Rs 4200 crore, the report proposes construction of a barrage across the floodprone Burhi Gandak river and a long canal, measuring 29 km, offtaking from the barrage and outfalls into
Baya river
Interestingly, the DPR of Burhi Gandak-Noon-Baya-Ganga Intra-State link is the first such project of any
state government taken up by NWDA, functioning under the Ministry of Water Resources.
The DPR, completed in the less than three years, was taken up after the Bihar government made a
request in this connection.
The four-volume report has been sent to the Water Resources Department of the state government for
further action.
India - Committee favours more storages in Uttarakhand to check floods
More storage facilities should come up in Uttarakhand to store water and reduce floods in the State,
according to a report of the committee, which was set up by the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR), in
the wake of the mid-June floods.
In July, the Committee members visited the affected sites in the State to assess the causes of the disaster.
The report was finalised in October.
The Committee included members from the Ganga Flood Control Commission (GFCC), an organisation set
up by the government of India for dealing with flood problems in the Ganga basin, the Central Water
Commission (CWC), which provides flood forecast service for three stations in Uttarakhand, the India
Meteorological Department (IMD), and the MoWR.
One of the Committee’s findings was: “It is evident that the existence of large storage in the Tehri dam
was helpful in absorbing a substantial amount of flow in the Bhagirathi river. The flood situation …. could
have been worse in the absence of the Tehri dam.”
Based on this, the report suggests that “action for construction of large storages, wherever feasible, on
the Alaknanda river, the Mandakini river, and the Pindar river, which are headstreams of the Ganga, may
be taken at the earliest.”
The report further states that “these storages could be operated in a manner as to provide opportunity
for absorption of flood in an unfavourable condition. Possibility of storage on tributaries may also be
explored.”
Role of Tehri dam
However, the report falls short of providing information regarding the role of the Tehri dam in checking
the floods.
In the first week of August this year, around 50 villages above the Tehri dam was cut off because a bridge
over the reservoir got completely submerged. As a result, the water level in the Ganga near Haridwar
reached just about a metre below the danger level mark of 294 m.
The water from the Ganga entered the villages in Haridwar’s Laksar belt and flooded the agricultural land
and houses in the area. People had to flee their homes and take shelter in some government buildings.
The situation was alarming and the residents downstream of the Tehri dam feared a repeat of 2010,
when the water level in the dam rose dangerously, threatening villages in the vicinity.
While environmentalists were upfront in their view that breach of environmental norms during dam
construction and the mushrooming of such structures aggravated the extent of disaster, the report does
not touch upon the issue at all.