DEHRADUN: Six drains in the Kedarnath-Gaurikund-Sonprayag region were classified as “untapped” in pre-monsoon monitoring data, while sewer connections at Gaurikund remain limited despite a functioning sewage treatment plant, according to two RTI replies.
The responses from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Uttarakhand Peyjal Nigam, obtained by Noida-based RTI activist Amit Gupta, have raised questions about wastewater management in the ecologically sensitive pilgrimage region and its potential impact on the Mandakini river system.
“The CPCB’s monitoring records identify six untapped drains in Kedarnath, Gaurikund and Sonprayag,” Gupta told The New Indian Express. “Samples were collected on May 12 and 13, 2026, and all six drains were categorised as untapped.”
The Gaurikund Market drain recorded the highest biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) at 242 mg per litre, followed by the Car Parking drain in Sonprayag at 143 mg per litre. A drain near the Sulabh Shauchalaya in Gaurikund recorded 96 mg per litre.
At Kedarnath Sangam, near the Saraswati-Mandakini bridge, the BOD reading was 48 mg per litre, while two other locations in Kedarnath recorded 2 mg per litre each.
The Gaurikund Market drain also recorded the highest chemical oxygen demand (COD), at 386 mg per litre, followed by the Sonprayag car park drain at 282 mg per litre. Total suspended solids ranged from below the detection level at one Kedarnath site to 175 mg per litre near the Gaurikund Sulabh Shauchalaya.
BOD and COD are indicators of organic pollution. Gupta said the readings warranted closer scrutiny and action wherever drains were found discharging into the river system.
“These figures need to be assessed alongside the actual flow and discharge points of the drains,” he said. “The priority should be to identify where the wastewater goes and ensure it is intercepted and treated.”
The CPCB reply also stated that it had not forwarded any letter to the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board on the matter. Compilation of data on drains monitored across the state during the pre-monsoon 2026 exercise was still under way.
A separate reply from the Construction and Maintenance Unit (Ganga) of Uttarakhand Peyjal Nigam, dated October 31, said a 200-kilolitre-per-day sewage treatment plant based on moving-bed biofilm reactor technology at Gaurikund became operational in April 2026.
However, only 26 sewer connections covering residential, departmental and commercial buildings had been reported. Two Sulabh public toilets near the plant were also connected. The department said about 150 kilolitres of sewage was being treated daily.
Outlet BOD readings from May to August ranged from 8 to 9.4 mg per litre, while faecal coliform readings stood at 87-94 most probable number per 100 millilitres.
“The plant’s reported performance is one part of the picture,” Gupta said. “The unanswered question is how wastewater from establishments outside the sewer network is being managed.”
The Nigam also cited about 30 additional polluted drains in the Gaurikund region, along with domestic wastewater and sewage requiring treatment. It proposed a faecal sludge treatment plant or a sewage treatment plant with co-treatment.
The project remains at the preparatory stage, with hydrological and sewer-network surveys, drain-flow testing and a detailed project report yet to be completed. An estimated Rs 35-40 lakh has been proposed for consultancy and DPR work, subject to approval.
“Surveys and a DPR are necessary, but the region also needs a clear timeline for taking the proposed system forward,” Gupta said.