No place along the banks of Ganga is more longed for at the moment of
death by Hindus than Varanasi. It is the holiest place in
Hinduism. Those who are lucky enough to die in Varanasi, the oldest living city
in the World, are cremated on the banks of the Ganges are believed to be granted with instant
salvation. There are exceptions of people who are not cremated but are lowered
into the river and sooner or later they show up at the surface again.
Ganges suffers from extreme pollution levels.
Sewage from many cities along the river’s course, industrial waste and
religious offerings wrapped in non-degradable plastics add large amounts of
pollutants to the river as it flows through densely populated areas. The
problem is that many poor people rely on the river on a daily basis for
bathing, washing, and cooking. This city releases around 200 million litres of
untreated human sewage into the river each day.
The present work concentrates on the impact of development of Varanasi
city, its population and urbanization, on the stretch of river Ganga passing
through it. The Article identifies various issues in terms of river pollution,
water quality, and its composite impact on the human health in its
surroundings. It also tries to formulate planning and policy measures in terms
of controlling land use, restricting or even prohibiting the dumping of city
waste into river and a conservation plan for river itself.
Introduction:
A
number of rivers are suffering the fate of deterioration, but river Ganga is
rotting as a result of blunders done in the sake of development. Ganga is the
lifeline of the country. It is considered as the holiest river in our culture
and is worshipped like a deity. Originating as crystal clear water from the
Gangotri glacier, it covers 2500 Kilometers throughout the country and empties
into the Bay of Bengal.
Varanasi is an Indian city on the banks of the Ganga in Uttar Pradesh, and is
considered as the oldest living city in the world. Its Ghats along river Ganga
have spiritual, cultural and religious importance in the Hindu culture. Various
rituals are performed on the Ghats of the river. Manikarnika Ghat and
Harishchandra Ghat are known as places of ultimate salvation, as it is believed
that if the deceased are cremated here then they attain “Moksha”
Existing
Scenario of Ganga in Varanasi:
Varanasi alone with its
population of one million people, releases around 200 million litres of
untreated human sewage into the river each day, leading to large concentrations
of faecal coliform bacteria.[Abraham, Wolf-Rainer. "Review Article. Megacities as Sources for Pathogenic Bacteria in Rivers and Their Fate Downstream". International Journal of Microbiology 2011. doi:10.1155/2011/798292.] After
the cremations at Varanasi's Ghats the bones and ashes are thrown into
the Ganges. Also, saints, pregnant women, people with leprosy
or chicken pox, people who had been bitten
by snakes, people who had committed suicide, the poor, and children under 5 are
not cremated at the Ghats but their corpses are dispersed in the river. Annually
25,000 to 30,000 bodies are cremated on various Varanasi Ghats; about an
average of 80 per day. This practice has become controversial for the pollution
it causes to the river.[S. Agarwal, Water pollution, ISBN 978-8176488327, APH Publishing]
The people bathe, drink, wash and consume the same water from the Ghats where
the burnt remains of dead bodies and sometimes a whole dead body is offered to
the Ganga and where every kind of waste is released in the river. These rituals and customs are just
one of the many sources of pollution in the river. The contamination occurs due
to sewage, trash, agricultural chemicals, pollutants and toxic chemical waste
from industries, human and animal remains.
These harmful traditions and customs are causing the degradation of the
environment, not only in case of Ganga but in other rivers and seas also,
disposal of corpses, bathing, burning of dead bodies, and immersion of idols of
deities into the water bodies lead to pollution. Other symptoms include environmental toxicity, drinking water
crisis due to multiple kinds of contamination, destruction of river eco-systems
and vanishing aquatic life, loss of biodiversity, increasing health problems
like declining immune capacity, early ageing and cancers etc. According
to Hindu scriptures and many religious believers, the Ganga water is believed
to have cleansing and purifying properties. Lives and economy of many people
depend on the trade of River Ganga; they sell it in bottles, conduct ceremonies
and rituals on its banks and depend
on the river in so many other ways. Along with the pollution in the river, the
structures along the river are continuously being constructed without
considering the norms, standards and building codes. This might lead to a big
disaster someday, just like Uttarakhand mistake, where property and life were
just washed away along with the massive river flow.
Planning
for Ganga special zone:
The Ganga Action Plan, 1985, was initiated by the
Indian Government to take steps to reduce the pollution in the river Ganga by
treating the effluents and pollutants in the river water coming from various
settlements along the river. After 15 yr. of implementation, it is estimated that the
Ganga Action Plan had achieved only 14% of the anticipated sewage treatment
capacity.[Dudgeon, David (2005), "River Rehabilitation for Conservation of Fish Biodiversity in Monsoonal Asia", Ecology and Society ]
The failure of the plan is a result of the political differences mismanagement
on the part of the government, corruption and stubbornness of the religious
authorities. The catchment area of river Ganga, along with
the river of course are the special zones and require special attention in
terms of planning measures and pollution treatment. In case of river Ganga, controls and regulations are required
on the Ghat activities and the municipal waste, both of which are the main
source of pollution in the country. There should be strict surveillance on the
banks. Planning for Ganga special zone should be prioritized not only in the
master plans and development plans of Varanasi but also in other cities along
the river.
Planning
Approach:
The
earlier Ganga Action Plan was a huge failure. Some of the Planning approaches
which can be followed to control the development along the river and minimize
the pollution levels are suggested below:
- Secure the quality of water, the Ghats and the Environment. The municipalities should be more responsible in terms of not contaminating the river water with the sewers and garbage and to thoroughly treat the wastewaters before any kind of disposal into the river.
- The Varanasi city sewage is full of organic and inorganic pollutants. Management and treatment of Sewage is required if pollution treatment of river Ganga is required. The wastewater from local sewers should be properly treated before being discharged into the river and drainage system.
- To transform the river as a major asset by modifying the Ghats for healthy social and cultural activities in such a way that no pollution is generated at the banks.
- The Ghats too are a part of the Urban fabric of the city and if maintained with wisdom, the pollution going into the river through the Ghat activities can be reduced.
- Cremation of the bodies is one of the major sources of pollution in the river. Even after cremations, some parts of the body do not burn completely. Also cremations involve a huge amount of wood, burning of which both creates pollution and scarcity of trees. These problems may be solved by introducing electric crematoriums on the Ghats but this can be done only with the involvement of the orthodox communities.
- The change of Land use along the Ghats into guest houses, restaurants, hotels is also an issue as they add up the waste generation along the river. Also character of the river is disturbed.
- There should be control on the ribbon development occurring along the river. Squatter establishments should be removed and rehabilitated
- New developments should be planned according to proper infrastructure provision, following the building norms being disaster proof and there should be a check kept on effluent and garbage generation and its proper treatment by the authorities.
- Strict penalties should be imposed on the Land uses, like commercial or industrial ; which dump untreated waste into the river.
- Sewage Treatment Plants, septic tanks, cesspits, open drains, gutters, small drains etc. must be closely monitored and the infrastructure should be modified according to modern technology. The waste collected in these should be treated biochemically and the disposals in the river water should be minimized.
- Construction of suspended solid traps like nets at a particular safe distance can be introduced at strategic locations like Manikarnika Ghat, Harishchandra Ghat. These traps will entrap cremation residues, the ritual ingredients and other wastes. The traps should be wide enough to entrap the floating solids only otherwise it might disturb the aquatic life like fishes.
- The action plans so far made for the river are known to involve a lot of corruption. So involvement of private sectors along with the public sectors can be trusted.
- A separate authority should be assigned to look after the river which would be associated with other organizations also and the work done should be made public. Strict penalties and punishments should be imposed on the offenders.
- Public participation is the biggest measure that can be followed for the improvement of the river. The communities should be informed through public meetings, seminars, discussions, social functions, campaigns etc. about the condition of the river, how the people can help to save the river and what could be the consequences if the situation is ignored.
Ganga River is the habitat of many species of flora
and fauna. The local flora and fauna is threatened by the pollutants being
discharged in the river. The pollution in Varanasi and other cities affect the
whole stretch of Ganga. The entire food chain is disturbed. The plants and
trees along the river are dying due to the poisons in the river, the lands are
becoming barren, fishes, birds and animals are dying or are born with
abnormalities due to arsenic poisonings. Ganga itself is a world to many
species. Alternative
methods of cleaning up waterways by adopting advanced cost effective
technologies should be explored. Some examples are use of clean waterfalls into
the river to increase amount of oxygen into the rivers to support aquatic life.
The
environment aspects should be considered before any kind of activity along the
river. For a bigger activity or a project, the Environment Impact Assessment
should be necessitated. Rehabilitation of the endangered species should be done. The
native flora and fauna are the prized possessions and these must be protected
and conserved.
Conclusion:
The condition of river Ganga needs to be countered
not only in Varanasi but in other areas also and that too as a high priority
case. The governance under the new Prime Minister talks about the improvement
of the River Ganga. These rivers are the veins and arteries of the country and
any kind of restrictions or pollution in its flow will lead to the death of the
country. The condition of the rivers in the country is in a critical stage and
the rivers are turning into sewers. There are no such practical planning
strategies for the conservation and improvement of the rivers in the country.
The government strategies and policies alone won’t be able to improve the condition
of rivers. To save the rivers everyone needs to be together.
