UP irrigation dept releases Ganga water into Hindon, residents call it ‘filthy’

The officials of the Uttar Pradesh irrigation department said that they released about 1,600 cusecs of Ganga water into the Upper Ganga Canal (UGC) on Saturday

Devotees who began celebrating the Chhath Puja festival on Monday complained that the water which reached the banks of the Hindon river in Ghaziabad was “filthy”.

Chhath Puja preparations near the Hindon river ghats in Ghaziabad on Monday. (Sakib Ali/HT)

Water was released into the Upper Ganga Canal two days ago and it reached the Hindon river on Monday afternoon.

“It is expected that as more water flows into the river, the initial impure water will flow away. The devotees need water in the river to perform puja on November 10 and 11. So, we are expecting that by November 10, the water in the river will be cleaner,” said Rakesh Tiwari, national general secretary of Purabiya Jan Kalyan Parishad.

The officials of the Uttar Pradesh irrigation department said that they released about 1,600 cusecs of Ganga water into the Upper Ganga Canal (UGC) on Saturday.

The UGC was shut for annual maintenance last month. Water supply has now been restarted--water will reach water treatment plants at Pratap Vihar in Ghaziabad from where it will be supplied further to Ghaziabad and Noida. “We released the water into the canal two days ago. This will benefit thousands of devotees who perform the puja on the banks of the Hindon river. As more water flows into the river, the water quality will improve. Further, the plants at Pratap Vihar will also help resume Ganga water supply to Ghaziabad and Noida,” said NK Lamba, executive engineer of UP Irrigation department (Meerut).

The devotees have also started preparing ‘vedis’ in the form of small temples made of mud on the banks of the Hindon river for performing puja.

It is estimated that around 300,000 devotees will gather at the river banks. According to official estimates, 700,000 people from Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh celebrate Chhath Puja every year in the region. “There are about 400 families in our society who will take part in puja celebrations. For this, we have got the swimming pool cleaned up and we will start filling water in it from Tuesday. The pool was non-operational during the pandemic. This year, we are expecting more celebrations as the pandemic situation has eased up,” said Deepak Kumar, president of Amrapali Village high-rise in Indirapuram.

“We will get the river banks cleaned up and readied for devotees. We are also installing CCTV cameras and setting up a control room at the site,” said Pramod Kumar, additional municipal commissioner.