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The mighty river Ganga has again started flowing clean as its dissolved oxygen level has improved thus allowing the devotees to have a holy dip on Basant Panchami.
"On the occasion of Basant Panchami, we announce that the quality of Ganga water has improved. The devotees will now take a dip in clean water of the Ganga on Basant Panchami," Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath declared on Monday.
This is for the first time that the average amount of dissolved oxygen in the Ganga in Varanasi is good (8.5 mg to 11.5 mg per litre) and the water of river Varuna, a tributary of the Ganga, has also improved dramatically. The BOD (biological oxygen demand) in the river Ganga is also good. Under the Namami Gange Programme, no sewage is discharged in the Ganga, he said.
Regional officer of Ganga Pollution Board, Kalika Singh, said that earlier, water from 30 drains used to fall directly into the river Ganga in Varanasi, while 14 drains flowed into the Varuna. Now out of these 30 drains, 19 drains have been completely closed while the drain to the Khidkiya Ghat has been partially closed, he said.
In the last few years, a sewage treatment plant with the latest technology has been constructed in Varanasi while the existing STP has also been upgraded. Also, with the introduction of other STPs, water in the river Ganga will become more pure and clean, Singh added.
Expressing happiness after seeing this effort of the government, general secretary of the Ganga Mahasabha, Swami Jitendra Nand Saraswati, said that the government's efforts for making the river Ganga clean had started showing results. "If the government continues to take drastic measures in this manner, the day is not far when the dream of making river Ganga pure will come true," he added.