Thanks to the Namami Gange project, the water quality in major rivers including Ganga has improved significantly in the state as the Uttar Pradesh government has set up 104 sewage treatment plants (STP) that are treating 3298.84 MLD (million litres daily) sewage per day in the state.
“With this initiative, the streams of the rivers have become uninterrupted and pure. The drains falling into the rivers have been tapped. Under the Namami Gange project, not only Ganga but the condition of all major rivers including Gomti, Saryu, Yamuna, Rapti has improved due to the intensive cleanliness campaigns,” Water Resources Minister Dr Mahendra Singh said.
He said due to the reduction in the amount of filth, aquatic beings had got life. Also, with the removal of silt, surface cleaning of rivers had become possible, he added.
Along with cleaning the rivers and stopping the sewage from falling into them, efforts are also being made to provide domestic sewerage connections in cities. Sewage overflowing on roads in cities is no longer visible.
This has also helped in controlling several diseases caused due to polluted water. The construction of 104 sewage treatment plants (STPs) of 3,298.84 MLD has played a decisive role in this.
Under the Namami Ganga project, the STP and sewerage line provided to Anupshahr, adjacent to the river Ganga, has stopped contaminated water from flowing into the river. The work of laying sewerage line was done at a cost of Rs 78 crore here.
On the same lines, dredging was carried out in river Gomti of Lucknow to remove the silt. A sewerage treatment plant of 120 MLD capacity is being set up to treat the sewer water of GH Canal (Haider canal) before it falls in the river.
Not only this, the construction work of STP has been completed under the scheme to stop the sewage falling in the rivers passing through the cities of Ghaziabad, Meerut, Agra, Loni, Saharanpur, Bijnor, Pilkhua, Muzaffarnagar, Rampur, Gorakhpur, Sultanpur, and Ayodhya.
Along with this, arrangements have also been made for the maintenance and smooth operation of sewage treatment plants. The intention of the government is to make the rivers completely free from dirt and sewage.
Under the Namami Gange scheme, the government has done the work of completely closing the drain through the Sisamau Nala Project and diverting it to the STP. The 128-year-old Sisamau Nala in Kanpur Nagar was a major reason for the contamination of river Ganga.
Around 140 MLD of sewage from this drain is being tapped by I&D and treated at 80 MLD Bingawan STP and 60 MLD Jajmau STP. Through this system, the pollution was reduced in the Ganga in Kanpur thereby improving the quality of its water.