The receding water level of Ganga has set the alarm bell ringing in Varanasi where District administration has requested the government to release water in the river from different barrages to ensure water supply in city as well maintain ecological balance of the river.
District Magistrate of Varanasi Yogeshwar Ram Mishra has written a letter to Principal Secretary (Irrigation) requesting him to take immediate steps to release water from the Kanpur or Naroura barrage to ensure a modest flow of water in the river.
District Magistrate said that there is drastic reduction in the water level which has reached to `alarming’ level.
Despite being Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi is also in the list of smart cities released by the union Urban development ministry.
In his letter DM also talked about the spiritual and historical importance of Varanasi and how it has been projected by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as tourist destination. “”I had myself visited Ghats and the scene there is pathetic. The Ganga has receded which is a shocking sight,” the DM said in his letter.
The city with a population of two million is also facing an acute shortage of drinking water. While the requirement of water in the city is estimated to be 311 MlD, the actual supply is pegged at 135 MlD.
The experts in ecological matter have also raised concern over the depleting water level. Saurabh Singh, arsenic expert of Inner Voice Foundation, an NGO working on arsenic mitigation across the Gangetic plains is reported to have said: “It is unfortunate that the Central and state governments are recklessly destroying the natural ecological balance that used to keep the Ganga water clean. It is happening in the name of development of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency. Instead of flushing sufficient water in the holy river to keep it flowing and cleaning the naturally present pollutants with honest intention, the government is indulging only in gimmickry. Now, they are going to shift the turtle sanctuary from here to build a floating tourist village on the river, ignoring the fact that these reptiles keep cleaning the river water,.”