Pollution of
River Ganga in
India
MIRZA VIKHAR ALI
BAIG
Introduction
Causes of Pollution
Agenda
Level of Heavy Metals in Drinking Water
Strategies to minimize the pollution
Conclusion
Introduction
River Ganga is the most important river in India
Accounts for 25% of the India’s water resources
Spans across 50 cities and 50 towns
Ganga basin sustains more than 300 million people
Mean annual discharge is the fifth highest in the world with a mean of about
18,700 𝑚3 /𝑠
D. Paul, "Research on Heavy metal pollution of Ganga: A review," Annals of agrarian science
15, pp. 278-286, 2017.
Map of river Ganga
D. Paul,
"Research on Heavy metal
pollution of Ganga: A review,“
Annals of agrarian science 15,
pp. 278-286, 2017.
Causes of Pollution
Effluents from 350 industries in the Ganga region
Release of 6 billion litres of untreated sewage into the river daily
Corruption in the Central Pollution Control Board
Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) and artificial
sweeteners (ASWs) are estimated to be a life-long health risk through
drinking water contaminated with them.
 Cremation ashes in Ganga
Religious factors
B. M. Sharma, J. Becanova, M. Scheringer, A. Sharma, G. K. Bharat, P. G. Whitehead, J. Klanova and L.
Nizzetto, "Health and ecological risk assessment of emerging contaminants (pharmaceuticals,
personal care products, and artificial sweeteners) in surface and groundwater (drinking water) in the
Ganges River Basin, India," Science of the Total Environment 646, pp. 1459 -1467, 2019.
−1
Level of Heavy Metals(µg 𝐿 )
Cd
Cr
Cu
Fe
Zn
Hg
Permissible 5
100
1000
100
5000
1
Varanasi
160-1090
1700-2000
120-150
500-600
160-950
100-160
The fatal diseases such as eyelid edema, nephritis, renal tumor, extensive lesions in
the kidneys, anuria, nasal mucous membranes and pharynx congestion, increase
blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis, cancer, headache and
malfunctions of different systems of the body caused by heavy metals have been
reported by several authors.
D. Paul, "Research on Heavy metal pollution of Ganga: A review," Annals of agrarian
science 15, pp. 278-286, 2017
Strategies to Minimise Pollution
oStrict regulations regarding the effluents disposal should be enforced
oGovernment should invest in building effluent treatment sites rather than investing in cleaning
the river
oLocal stake holders should be involved
oMaking sure the officials aren’t corrupt
oBy building dams and barrages
T. Shah, C. Ray, and U. Lele, "How to clean up the Ganges?," Science Volume .362, Issue 641, p. 503, 02
November 2018.
https://www.kickassfacts.com/10-most-polluted-rivers-in-the-world/
https://soapboxie.com/social-issues/What-Are-the-10-Most-Polluted-Rivers-in-the-World
Conclusion and
Questions