Back in July, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) declared an area of 100 metres from the edge of the Ganga between Haridwar and Unnao a “No Development Zone”, prohibiting dumping of waste within 500 metres of the river.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, heavy metals such as chromium, mercury and lead make up the thick soup of untreated toxic waste that typically pour in from hospitals, chemical plants, hospitals, textile mills and distilleries along its banks. Floating ingredients such as faeces, human and animal rotting flesh, and modern plastics add to the 2,723 million litres of sewage pumped into the Ganges’ tributaries on a daily basis.
The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has approved 26 projects worth Rs.2,154.28 crore under the Centre’s ‘Namami Gange’ programme, aiming to reduce the river’s pollution load. However, meeting the 2018 clean up deadline is looking unlikely.
“It is estimated that 80% of sewage in the Ganga basin is untreated. The Ganga is still the main sewer for many of the 450 million people reckoned to live in its catchment area," the Centre for Science and the Environment has said.
Dr B. D. Tripathi, an environmental and water pollution expert at Banaras Hindu University, estimates 32,000 human corpses are cremated there each year with up to 300 tonnes of half-burnt human flesh released into the river.
