Login With Google
Where Ganga meets the Bay of Pollution
Why is it in news?
- An exponential increase in the number of pilgrims coming to the Ganga Sagar Mela, which takes place at the Sagar Island every year during Makar Sankranti, has been responsible for the worsening water pollution, prompting scientists to raise serious concerns about the likely outbreak of several diseases.
- The number of pilgrims descending on the Sagar Island to take a dip at the place where the Ganga meets the Bay of Bengal, has risen from 2 lakh in 1990 to 20 lakh in 2018.
Health concerns
- A health survey was conducted with the local peopleI
- t found that diseases like cholera, dysentery, and skin disease were predominant in the post-Ganga Sagar Mela period,” observed a paper titled ‘Pollution and its consequences at Ganga Sagar mass bathing in India’,
- The study noted a sharp deterioration in water quality parameters between the pre-mela and post-mela period.
- For instance, the concentration of faecal coliform bacteria, which was 22 MPN (most probable number) in 100 ml of water two weeks before the mela, was found to be 9,963 MPN two weeks after the mela.
- One of the authors of the paper, Tuhin Ghosh from the School of Oceanographic Studies at Kolkata’s Jadavpur University, said the focus of the administration is mostly on managing the mela, and that it should also manage the pollution with sustainable strategies. He suggested that a wastewater treatment plant be set up. He stressed the need to make the mela plastic-free to prevent plastics from clogging the ocean.
- Researchers also pointed out that making the Ganga Sagar Mela pollution-free should be seen in the context of the Clean Ganga Mission and that the pollution wrought by the mela added to the pollutants which the river brings from upstream.
- Sagar is the biggest island of the Sunderbans archipelago, with a population of about 2.12 lakh people. Several studies have shown that the island is at the frontline of climate chage, facing serious erosion on its east and west sides due to rising sea level and tidal surges.
Source
The Hindu