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From
Tehelka Magazine, Vol 9, Issue 28, Dated 14 July 2012 |
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RIVER INTERRUPTED |
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Ganga Burdened
THE CURSE OF THE TRIBUTARIES
Nearly 60 percent of the Ganga’s water comes from its many tributaries, which also add to the river’s burden, says Brijesh Pandey
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 Click to zoom
Graphic: Sudeep Chaudhuri |
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YAMUNA
Origin Yamunotri Glacier, Uttarakhand
Length 1,376 KM
Meets The Ganga At Sangam in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
Pollution Laden with Delhi’s biological and chemical waste, coliform levels at Okhla Barrage are 30,000 MPN/100 ML*
*MPN: MOST PROBABLE NUMBER, SHOULD BE <50 MPN*/100 ML FOR DRINKING |
GOMTI
Origin Gomat Taal, Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh
Length 600 KM
Meets The Ganga At Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh
Pollution Over 30 drains in the Lucknow area discharge untreated sewage into the Gomti. As the river flows through Lucknow, Sultanpur, Jaunpur, besides several other big and small towns, domestic sewage as well as industrial effluents from sugar factories and distilleries, are dumped into the Gomti |
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DAMODAR
Origin Palamu, Jharkhand
Length 600 KM
Meets The Ganga At Hooghly, West Bengal
Pollution Caused due to industrial waste discharge along the mineral rich banks
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MAHANANDA
Origin Darjeeling, West Bengal
Length 360 KM
Meets The Ganga At Godagiri, Bangladesh
Pollution A large quantity of the sewage of the Siliguri Corporation is emptied into the river |
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GHAGHARA
Origin Greater Himalayas at Kalapani
Length 323 KM
Meets The Ganga At Doriganj in Bihar
Pollution In terms of volume, it is the largest tributary of the Ganga contributing close to 16 percent of the total flow
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SON
Origin Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh
Length 784 KM
Meets The Ganga At Near Patna
Pollution Son is one of the largest rivers in India and, perhaps, the largest southern tributary of the Ganga |
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KOSI
Origin Transnational river flowing through Nepal and India
Length 729 KM
Meets The Ganga At Kosi is the third largest tributary of the Ganga and is
also known as the “sorrow of Bihar” for the widespread
human suffering it causes due to flooding and
frequently changing its course
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GANDAK
Origin At the confluence called Triveni on the Indo-Nepal border
Length 300 KM
Meets The Ganga At Sonepur, near Patna
Pollution The Gandak river basin is reported to contain 1,025 glaciers and 338 lakes. These contribute substantially to the lean season flows of the river |
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OTHER DARK SPOTS
GANGA NAHAR Jagdishpur Sewage Treatment Plant, Haridwar
CHUHIYA Paper mills, chemical industries, Bijnor
RAMGANGA Sewage, as well as solid and industrial waste generated by human and economic activity along its banks in Bareilly
KALI Flowing through Meerut and Muzaffarnagar, the river is a significant source of toxic effluents
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13 NUMBER OF MAJOR GANGA TRIBUTARIES
ATRAI | BHILANGNA | BURHI GANDAK DAMODAR | GANDAK | GHAGHARA | GOMTI | KOSI | MAHANANDA | RAMGANGA | SON | TAMSA | YAMUNA |
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‘YAMUNA IS the most polluting tributary of the Ganga. Perfluorinated compounds, a dangerous micro pollutant, is found in the Ganga after the Yamuna merges with the river. There is a dramatic rise in this chemical after the rivers come together; it clearly means that the Yamuna water is highly contaminated. We did a study from Delhi to Allahabad, and it shows that the Yamuna is definitely adding to the pollution in the Ganga’
RK Sinha, Member, NGRBA |
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‘DUE TO coal-based industries, washeries, iron and steel plants, the river is abused, misused and forgotten because of wrong practices’
Kalyan Rudra, Adviser to the West Bengal Government on Environmental Affairs |
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BARRAGES ALSO TO BLAME
Besides the pollution by the tributaries, barrages built on these rivers also decrease the flow, thereby, polluting the Ganga further. There
are two barrages on the Sharda, the Tanakpur Sharda Barrage and Lakhimpur Kheri Barrage. At Girjapuri, there is the Lower Sharda
Barrage. The Gandak and the Kosi barrages are located at the India-Nepal border.
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