Ganga clean-up gets stricter for upcoming Kumbh Mela

NP NEWS 24 ONLINE- Recently, a portion of an under-construction building near the Kumbh Mela ground in Prayagraj collapsed late on 9^th January. The building was being constructed for a heliport designed here to facilitate landing and take-off of helicopters. However, only two labourers were trapped in a mound of mud and rock after the tragedy. They were later rescued by the officials within an hour who were pressed into service by the local administration.

On the other side, 206 engineers have been employed to monitor 227 drains that flow into Ganga to keep the holy river clean for the devotees. The project started by Uttar Pradesh government to ensure clean water for bathing during Kumbh began on December 15 last year and will continue till June this year.

State Mission for Clean Ganga Uttar Pradesh (SMCG-UP) began the project by listing out the 227 drains that cover more than 800 kilometres as the holy river passes the state.

An executive engineer who was appointed as the nodal officer to monitor a drain in Kanpur quoted that they were tasked to report the condition of the drains, ensure sample collection and update the findings online in real time. They are also required to upload the GPS-coordinates of the drain, volume of sludge added by it into the river and the technology used to clean the drain water.

To ensure accountability, a mobile application has been developed by SMCG-UP, the state pollution control board and other departments where the engineers upload all the required data. The data, which is compiled on a weekly basis, is reviewed every fortnight to identify the drains where pollution levels show no or less improvement and execute additional measures to control the condition.

Private players were involved in the project to make use of the best technology such us bio-remediation. New technologies like bagging and phytoremediation are also being tested in the project.