No traces of coronavirus in Ganga, study finds: Report

The virological study extracted the RNA of the viruses from the water samples to conduct an RT-PCR test to determine the viral load.

A government-directed study has found no traces of coronavirus in Ganga waters after dead bodies were taken out from the river in some districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar during the peak of the second wave of Covid-19, news agency PTI reported.

The study also included checking the biological characteristics of the river.(ANI Photo)

The study was conducted by the National Mission for Clean Ganga under the Jal Shakti Ministry in collaboration with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research's (CSIR’s) Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR), Lucknow, the Central Pollution Control Board and the state pollution control boards.

According to PTI, the study was conducted in two phases with the samples being taken from Kannuj, Unnao, Kanpur, Hamirpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Balia, Buxar, Ghazipur, Patna and Chhapra. “None of the samples collected had traces of SARS-CoV2,” the news agency reported, quoting people associated with the study.

The virological study extracted the RNA of the viruses from the water samples to conduct an RT-PCR test to determine the viral load. The study also included checking the biological characteristics of the river.

Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were badly hit when the second wave of coronavirus swept the nation. There was also a fear whether the bodies, possibly of Covid-19 infected patients, had led to the contamination of the river water which is a major source of drinking for the population in the districts along it.