More than three decades after the Ganga Action Plan was launched, the ancient city of Varanasi is set to have zero sewer discharge in the holy river by November this year.
The Ganga Action Plan was launched by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in Varanasi on June 14, 1986 to reduce the pollution load on Ganga.
Under Nitin Gadkari, the Ministry of Ganga Rejuvenation and its implementing arm National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) have taken up several projects for treatment of sewer water in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Work on 50 MLD sewage treatment plant at Ramana is nearing completion. By November this year, it is expected to be fully operational for treating discharge of Assi Nala. With this, flow of untreated sewer water from Varanasi city into the Ganga will be completely checked," said NMCG officials.
The city currently generates about 300 million litres per day sewer water. PTI