Water of Ganga river unfit for bathing at several places in Bihar: Economic Survey
Patna, Mar 2 (PTI): The water of the Ganga river in Bihar is not fit for bathing at most places in the state due to the presence of a higher value of “bacteriological population”, according to the Bihar Economic Survey 2024-25.
The Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) monitors the water quality of the Ganga at 34 locations in the state on a fortnightly basis, officials said.
According to the Economic Survey recently tabled in the state assembly, “The water quality of Ganga indicates the presence of a higher value of bacteriological population (total coliform and faecal coliform). This is mainly due to the discharge of sewage/domestic waste water from cities located on the banks of Ganga and her tributaries.”
The survey cited the latest water quality test results of the BSPCB.
“The other parameters… pH (acidity or basicity), dissolved oxygen and bio-chemical oxygen demand (BOD) have been observed within the prescribed limit in the river and her tributaries in Bihar, indicating that water is fit for aquatic life, wildlife propagation, fisheries and irrigation,” it said.
Important towns located on the banks of the river include Buxar, Chapra (Saran), Dighwara, Sonepur, Maner, Danapur, Patna, Fatuha, Bakhtiyarpur, Barh, Mokama, Begusarai, Khagaria, Lakhisarai, Manihari, Munger, Jamalpur, Sultanganj, Bhagalpur and Kahalgaon.
Reacting to the report, D K Shukla, Chairman of the BSPCB, told PTI that the presence of a higher value of bacteriological population in the Ganga river is a matter of concern.
“Faecal coliform bacteria are found in excreta that contaminates water through untreated sewage. The higher the level, the higher is the presence of disease-causing pathogens in water. According to the CPCB standards, the permissible limit of faecal coliform is 2,500 MPN/100 ml,” Shukla said.
At most places, the presence of total coliform and faecal coliform in the Ganga is much higher, indicating it is not fit for bathing, he said.
The BSPCB is taking measures to ensure that sewage treatment plants (STP) in the state function properly, the senior official said.
“We have directed the authorities concerned to ensure that construction work on certain STPs in the state is completed at the earliest,” Shukla said.
“The BSPCB is also monitoring the effluent/sewage quality generated from the industrial units as well as STP/sewerage drains. Presently, 2,561 water/effluent/sewage samples from different sources have been collected by the board,” the survey said.
As per the latest data of the BSPCB related to the quality of the Ganga accessed by PTI, the level of faecal coliform measured at Kachchi Dargah-Bidupur Bridge was 3,500 MPN/100 ml, Gulabi Ghat (5,400 MPN/100 ml), Triveni Ghat (5,400 MPN/100 ml), Gaighat (3,500 MPN/100 ml), Kewala Ghat (5,400 MPN/100 ml), Gandhi Ghat, NIT (3,500 MPN/100 ml) and Hathidah (5,400 MPN/100 ml).
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Post poll TN alliances divided in supporting TVK
Chennai (PTI): In a changed political atmosphere in Tamil Nadu with no single political party having a simple majority to form the government post the Assembly election, opinion is divided among the allies led by the Dravidian majors in extending external support to Vijay-led TVK in government formation.
Both the DMK and AIADMK are at unease as the Congress and also a section in the AIADMK express willingness to extend external support to Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagtam in forming the government.
Post poll, the TVK's political prospects appear to impact alliances led by both the Dravidian majors in a different manner, triggering a speculation of a split.
Leema Rose Martin, who won from Lalgudi on an AIADMK ticket, has stated that talks were underway on extending support to the TVK. Her son-in-law Aadhav Arjuna, who won from Villivakkam is TVK's general secretary.
On May 5, former AIADMK minister O S Manian, emerging from his meeting with party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, stated that AIADMK would not support TVK in forming the government.
The AIADMK, which finished third in the elections with 47 seats has cancelled its meeting of MLAs designate on Wednesday amidst a difference in extending external support to the TVK, which won 108 seats, including two seats by its founder Vijay.
As Vijay is gearing up for his swearing-in on May 7, the police have tightened security at his residence here. The party has lodged its MLA-elect at a resort in Mamallapuram and has simultaneously engaged in talks with the Congress and AIADMK, a source said.
The DMK that won 59 seats on its own, has convened a meeting of its newly elected legislators on May 7 evening and the party is likely to elect the youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin, who won from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni as its legislature party leader.
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal admitted that TVK chief Vijay requested the Congress for support to form the government.
"The INC is clear that the mandate in Tamil Nadu is for a secular government, committed to protecting the Constitution in letter and spirit. The INC is determined not to allow the BJP and its proxies to run the government of Tamil Nadu in any manner. Thiru Vijay has also spoken about drawing inspiration from Perunthalaivar Kamaraj," he said.
Accordingly, the Congress leadership has directed the TNCC to take a final decision on Vijay’s request, keeping in view the sentiments of the state as reflected in the electoral verdict, Venugopal said in a statement.
DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai slammed the Congress decision and said the move to ally with TVK, pledging the support of its five MLAs to the party, was tantamount to "backstabbing the DMK and the people of Tamil Nadu."
"They have betrayed the mandate given by the people. Even before the ink on the returning officer’s signature on the victory certificate has dried, they have chosen to go ahead with this alliance," he told PTI.
The most important question was who took this "foolhardy decision, and how is it going to backfire on the Congress?" he asked.
"I don’t think they had any serious deliberation on this. The larger issue is their opposition to the BJP, which is their ideological enemy. We have supported the Congress throughout. It was our leader M K Stalin, who named Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate when the BJP and RSS were criticising him. And now, within a day, they say they are supporting TVK. This is not the mandate of the people of Tamil Nadu,” Saravanan said.
The Congress' exit from its long-standing alliance with the DMK will be a significant moment in the political scenario of the state, commentator and political analyst Sumanth Raman said.
The Congress may be betting on the TVK as a long-term partner option, but that comes with risks, as the TVK is as yet an unknown quantity, he said.
"For the DMK, if the TVK+Congress becomes the choice of the minorities as it well could, it is an existential threat. It was the minority vote that gave the DMK alliance a 12%-15% cushion in the polls. If that goes, their chances of winning drops dramatically," Raman said on 'X.'
The Congress won 5 seats. However, DMK's other allies, the IUML, VCK, CPI and CPI (M) and DMDK have categorically stated that they would not support TVK.
As of now, the TVK requires the support of 11 MLAs to attain a simple majority of 118 to form the government.
The PMK, which won 4 seats and AMMK one - both allies of AIADMK - have not announced their decision yet.
"AIADMK’s real post-result drama may not be outside the party, but inside it. Whispers from the west and north suggest that a Coimbatore hand and a Villupuram voice may soon ask the question everyone is avoiding: Is it time to save the party from the leadership, before the cadre are forced to do it themselves? In politics, coups don’t begin with slogans. They begin with silence, phone calls and “review meetings,” Aspire Swaminathan, who is credited with founding the AIADMK IT wing in 2014, said on 'X.'
He has resigned from the AIADMK in 2021 and now acts an as independent political analyst.
