Context:
- As per National mission for clean Ganga (NMCG) data , The Ganga is cleaner today than it was in 1986, when efforts to first clean the river were launched, with the quality of its water showing an improvement on two out of three parameters used for measurement , in 10 cities.
The parameters where the water quality has shown improvement between 1986 to 2017 are-
1. Dissolved Oxygen ( DO )
2. Biological Oxygen Demand ( BOD)
The third parameter is —” Faecal coliform level ” , which is crucial to access if the water is fit for drinking or bathing or not
- Data about 3rd parameter is not provided by NMCG.
- Coliform are a broad class of bacteria found in faeces of humans and animals and their presence may indicate the possible presence of harmful and disease causing organisms.
- A CAG report on Rejuvenation of Ganga says that during 2016-2017 , the total coliform level in Ganga across all the cities of UP, Bihar and WB that it flowed through, was 6 to 334 times higher than the prescribed levels.
Source: Hindustantimes