Water quality in India: Needs urgent environmental surgery to keep environment healthy

By Syed Akbar

The Central Pollution Control Board has set up as many as 1019 water
quality monitoring stations in all States and Union Territories. Water
quality is monitored regularly to find out whether it is polluted. The CPCB's
monitoring network covers 200 rivers and 60 lakes among other small water
bodies.
The water quality monitoring results obtained indicate
that the organic and bacterial contamination are continued to be critical in
water bodies. This is mainly due to discharge of domestic waste water mostly
in untreated form from the urban centres of the country. The municipal
corporations at large are not able to treat increasing the load of municipal
sewage flowing into water bodies without treatment.

Biochemical oxygen demand:

The biochemical oxygen demand,  one of the most important indicators of
pollution, was observed in Amlakhadi at Ankleshwar (714 mg/L) followed
by Ghaggar at Moonak, Punjab (626 mg/l); Khari at Lali village, Ahmedabad
(320 mg/L); Musi at Hyderabad (225 mg/L); Sabarmati at Ahmedabad (207
mg/L); Kalinadi at Kannuaj, UP (136 mg/L); Khan at Kabitkhedi, Indore, MP
(120 mg/L); Damanganga at Kachigaon (112 mg/L); Kalinadi, UP (110
mg/l), Saroonagar, Ranga Reddy district, AP (71 mg/l) and Gandigudem at
Medak district. (60 mg/l).

Faecal Coliform bacteria:

Faecal Coliform, another important indicator of pollution in India, was found
highest in Yamuna river in Agra, Nizamuddin, Mazawali and Okhla (MPN
5.2 x10 6 to 3.7x10 6 ) followed by Hindon after confluence with Krishni
(1.1x10 6 to 4.6x10 5 ); Ganga at Dakshineshwar and Uluberia (1.1x10 6 to
2.8x10 5 ); Damodar at Haldia (1.4x10 6 ); Khari at Lali Village, Ahmedabad
(7.5x10 5 ); and Sabarmati at Ahmedabad (1.1x10 6 to 4.6x10 5 ).