Ganga in U’khand and J’khand not polluted: Govt tells Parl
An earlier report by CPCB, submitted to NGT on February 3, presented data till January 24, showing the FC level at 49,000 for January 20.
New Delhi: Faecal coliform levels met the bathing quality criteria in the entire stretch of Ganga in Uttarakhand and Jharkhand and certain stretches of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, the Jal Shakti ministry informed the Lok Sabha.
“As per a Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report, faecal coliform (median) primary water quality criteria for bathing is met in the entire stretch of river Ganga in Uttarakhand & Jharkhand and certain stretches of UP, Bihar and West Bengal while Faecal Streptococoi (median) the primary water quality criteria for bathing is met in the entire stretch of river Ganga in Uttarakhand, Bihar and Jharkhand and certain stretches of UP and West Bengal,” Raj Bhushan Choudhary, minister of state for Jal Shakti said in a written responsein the House.
He was responding to questions from TMC MP, Sayani Ghosh and Congress MP, Murari Lal Meena on faecal coliform levels in the Ganga, with specific reference to the recently concluded Maha Kumbh during which some reports spoke of high levels in the Sangam (Prayagraj).
Coliforms are bacteria that live in the intestines of warm-blooded animals (humans, pets, farm animals, and wildlife). Feacal coliform (FC) bbacteria are a kind of coliform associated with human or animal wastes. Escherichia coli (E. coli) is part of the group of feacal coliforms.
An earlier report by CPCB, submitted to NGT on February 3, presented data till January 24, showing the FC level at 49,000 for January 20. That report caused NGT to pull up the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board on February 17. The data showing the water as unclean was widely debated, including in the Uttar Pradesh assembly, where chief minister Yogi Adityanath said the water at Sangam was fit not just for bathing, but drinking.
A subsequent report by CPCB, dated February 28, submitted to NGT showed that median value of pH, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), BOD and Faecal Coliform (FC) for all the monitored locations was within the respective criteria/permissible limits for bathing water.
