On the eve of Diwali, more than 3 lakh earthen lamps were lit to illuminate the banks of Sarayu River in Ayodhya. This was done to create a new world record of lighting the most numbers of diyas at a time. But, can this extravaganza anyway help in improving the pathetic condition of the Sarayu River? The answer is a stark ‘No’.
The lifeline of lakhs of people in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the Sarayu River is facing a dangerous level of pollution that has brought the river to the verge of complete destruction. A study published in 2007 in the Journal of Industrial Pollution Control reported that the Sarayu river gets polluted heavily when it passes through the twin towns of Ayodhya and Faizabad in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The main source of pollution are waste discharges from a variety of small scale industries like rice mills, petroleum workshops, diaries, cereal markets, laundry etc. Hazardous wastes from hospitals and pathological labs, and sewage from the towns are also discharged directly into the river. The study points out that these municipal wastes are the largest contributors to the deteriorating water condition of the river. The paper reported that the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) level was much higher than the CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) criteria of water quality. The reported BOD was 44.5-214.6mg/L in five selected points, whereas the CPCB criteria falls in the range 3mh/L.
River Shrinking as Pollution Chokes
The Sarayu River which once used to be 1.5 kilometers wide, has shrunk to 30-40 meters only, according to The Telegraph report of 2012. Global warming, pollution and the construction of the Pancheswar Dam in Nepal accounted for the narrowing down of the river. The change of the course of the river has made thousands of acres of fertile land barren due to the accumulation of sand in these areas. Water table in the adjacent areas has also dipped and thousands of hand pumps have dried. This has created an acute water problem for the residents, the report said.
In an interview to The Telegraph, S.N Singh, a Zoology teacher from Jai Prakash University was quoted as saying, “The construction of Pancheshwar dam in Nepal has reduced the flow of water in the river. Pollution has also increased which is proving dangerous for aquatic life.”
In the same report of The Telegraph, R. N. Thakur of Rajendra College had said, “Sarayu River is in its third stage in this district. That is why the flow is weak. Deposition of silt is another reason that causes the river’s course to change. The river is drying up as the water-level is receding.”
Sarayu River originates from the Mansarovar in Himalaya and after traversing miles, it merges with the Ganga in Saran district of Bihar. This river is also known as Ghaghra and Manas Nandini.
The report of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) released in 2016 said that the river contained much higher levels of faecal coliform than the standard quantity. Faecal coliform are the bacteria which originate from human feces. The 2016 report had said that the faecal coliform range was 3900 to 5100 mpn/100mL which exceeds double the standard value of 2500 mpn/100mL.
Given these situations, the main thrust should have been on saving the lifeline of the people dependent on the Sarayu River rather than expending crores in an extravaganza endorsed by the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath himself.
An India Today report of 2017 had pointed that the saints of Ayodhya had showed their disenchantment over the development schemes announced by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as none of the schemes were meant to clean up the Sarayu river.
The cleaning of the river is not just important for the people dependent on it, but it is also essential to the improvement of the Ganga’s health as the river carries along its pollution to the Ganga at the time of merging.