The Haridwar district administration may have claimed of capping more than a dozen drains falling into Ganga but the reality is far from official claims. The ground reality check shows a very different picture. Despite the penalisation system imposed by the National Green Tribunal, the drains are still being routed to the Ganga. Critics opine that the Namami Gange project has become a milch cow with crores of rupees being spent on cleaning and related works even as sewage continues to flow into the river untreated.
In a recent Namami Gange meeting held by district officials, the District Magistrate Deepak Rawat claimed that out of 24 drains earmarked for capping, 17 have been capped. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) may have recommended a slew of measures to clean up the Ganga river including a penalty of Rs 50,000 for dumping waste in the Haridwar-Unnao stretch of the river within 500 meters from the edge of the Ganga, but the holy river still has nearly 20 waste water drains directly pouring into the river. Out of 106 MlDs of waste water generated per day, 63 MlDs of sewer water is still directly drained into the Ganga river, the work of sewage treatment plant (STP) installation still being far from over. It is pertinent to mention here that the NGT bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar had directed the authorities that no waste dumping should be allowed in the Ganga river. However critics point out that if the projects of treatment of waste water are taking years to be implemented, the authorities are never booked for delays. The Ganga conservation unit, municipal corporation and Peyjal Nigam have their constraints when it comes to release of funds which is resulting in continued contamination of the Ganga.
The northern parts of the city including loknath Ghat, Bhimgoda, lalpul, Vishnu Ghat, Rishikul, Premnagar Ashram bridge, Paondhoi have the sewer waste drains pouring directly into the Ganga.
With the growing population, 90 MlDS sewer waste water which was generated every day in the city has increased to 106 MlDs per day which increases all the more during the fairs and fests while the current capacity of sewage treatment plant installed in Jagjeetpur is 63 MlDs, rest of the water goes into Ganga untreated. The executive engineer of Jal Sansthan, Haridwar, said, “The three STPs installed for urban areas are getting nearly 100 MlDs waste water. Under the Namami Gange project enhanced capacity of STP installation of 82 MlD s has been pending since long.”
Apart from sewage water, dirty water from washing areas (dhobi ghats) near Bhagirathi Bindu and Mittal Dham has become a perennial source of water pollution. The housekeeping facility of an array of hotels and Dharmshalas is all dependent on Ganga water for cleaning their dirty linen. The dhobi ghats are located very near to the Mela control room and the district administration has failed in checking the polythene and plastic menace in the city. Merely catching someone throwing waste in the river and imposing fine is not the solution, say the environmentalists.
Speaking to The Pioneer, former professor of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and advisor to the state Government during Ardh Kumbh Mela in 2004, Devendra Swaroop Bhargava said, “In my opinion it is a very good step taken by Justice Swatanter Kumar to check pollution in Ganga but the main concern is its implementation in India. A study says that in every city, 50 per cent of the waste water is drained directly into rivers so how can rivers remain cleanIJ In Haridwar so many sewer drains are directly pouring in Ganga so who would be penalisedIJ If the Government departments are penalised, ultimately it is the public, the humble tax payer which is at a loss. They would be busy collecting fines and no development will be in place.”
Building a separate retaining wall which separates the city waste water from the Ganga is an option like it has been done in lucknow for Gomti river, said D S Bhargava. Another way is to grow water cleaning weeds in Ganga, he added.