As Varanasi’s standing swells, the Assi river shrinks into a nala

At UP’s Global Investors Summit, Denmark committed ₹1,000 cr to clean up the Ganga and its tributaries, but it is unclear if or how much time and money will be put into the Assi river

February 13, 2023 03:39 am | Updated 03:39 am IST - LUCKNOW

The NGT-constituted committee said the pollution in the Assi is more due to sewage than effluents.

The NGT-constituted committee said the pollution in the Assi is more due to sewage than effluents. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The Assi river, a minor tributary of the Ganga that borders Varanasi on the south and gives the city a part of its name, is dying a slow death. It has been struggling, for a while now, with rampant encroachment and administrative negligence.

As the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the main host of the forthcoming G-20 meetings in Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi’s strategic importance is escalating. Yet, there are now more than two dozen nalas (sewers) carrying the city’s waste into the Assi. Along with the Varuna that borders the city on its north, the Assi river is considered holy, and earlier used to join the Ganga near Assi Ghat. However, it was diverted and now joins the main river about a kilometre earlier, due to a sewage-pumping system built in 2017. 

At the Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Denmark, committing to a ₹1,000 crore investment to clean up the Ganga and its tributaries. A Smart River Laboratory will also be set up, but it is unclear if or how much time and money will be put into the Assi. 

Encroachments narrow river

Amidst the rapid decay of the river and its uncertain future, a group of Varanasi residents have been working to preserve their natural heritage under the banner of the Assi Nadi Mukti Abhiyan that began in 2012. The primary aim of the group is to get encroachments removed, so that the river can return to its original form. 

 “The mapping of Assi river was carried out and details appeared in the Varanasi Gazetteer of 1866. It notes a width of 50 metres at the centre. We want that to be revived,” said Kapindra Tiwari, the convener of the Abhiyan. Currently, the river is only about 30 metres at its widest point. 

The mapping of the Assi river was started when the Samajwadi Party was in power in the State, but no major progress was made in encroachment removal or in the restoration of the old course. “We have high hopes from the Yogi Adityanath government. In 2017-18, encroachments on the river were removed. We were successful in making sure a 25,000 square metre area could be retrieved, but things came to standstill later,” added Mr. Tiwari.   

‘Sewage, not industry, to blame’

The matter of revitalising the Assi also went to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which constituted a committee to submit an action plan for restoration and rejuvenation. The report, submitted in mid-2021, suggested that a survey be conducted to understand the existing levels of encroachment in the catchment area of the rivers. The committee also said that the pollution in the river is more due to sewage rather than industrial effluents, and suggested pollution mapping to identify the sources of pollution.

There’s some confusion about where the river originates, with locals saying that it begins at Kandwa and extends about 8 km, while the Inland Waterways Authority of India documents it as beginning at Newada and then flowing for 5.5 km. Another point of view from a Ph.D thesis by Mallikarjun Mishra says that the original river could have started in Allahabad and extended 120 km. 

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