E-Paper
Ensure regular monitoring of Ganga water quality during Magh Mela: High Court
The court directed the authorities managing the ongoing 44-day annual religious fair to ensure that ban on the single use plastic is enforced in the mela area properly so that the plastic waste is not dumped either in the Ganga or in the Yamuna river.
Ahead of upcoming auspicious bathing days of the ongoing Magh Mela in Prayagraj, the Allahabad high court has directed the authorities concerned to ensure regular monitoring of quality of water flowing in the Ganga downstream in Kanpur district and upstream in Prayagraj.
Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) petition relating to pollution in the river Ganga, a three judge bench comprising Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal, Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Ajit Kumar further directed the authorities to ensure that during the Magh Mela, the waste, either liquid or solid, generated and collected in temporary toilets constructed in the mela area is not discharged in the Ganga and the Yamuna.
“In any circumstances, there has to be proper mechanism to collect and send the same to any of the STPs. If sewage is collected in septic tank, it shall be ensured that it is removed at the end of Mela and not left at the banks,” the court said.
The court directed the authorities managing the ongoing 44-day annual religious fair to ensure that ban on the single use plastic is enforced in the mela area properly so that the plastic waste is not dumped either in the Ganga or in the Yamuna river.
During the court proceedings, Uttar Pradesh advocate general (AG) Ajay Kumar Mishra assured that the district magistrate and the municipal commissioner of Prayagraj were in touch with the authorities of Kanpur and Unnao districts to ensure that the tanneries set up there did not discharge any effluents in the Ganga without proper treatment.
The AG further assured the court that he will have a meeting of all the counsel, who are representing the petitioner in the present bunch of petitions filed in public interest, the amicus curiae and the officers concerned to sort out the issues regarding collection and treatment of liquid and solid waste before the next Kumbh.
While taking the statement of the AG on record, the court in its order dated January 6 passed the above directives and fixed January 19, 2023 as the next date of hearing.
