BHUBANESWAR: Gangua nullah in the State capital which has been struggling for its revival as a natural water channel is the most polluted followed by Guradih nala and Brahmani river near Rourkela, suggests a report of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in connection with a petition.
The CPCB has furnished water quality report of 19 rivulets and rivers in the State which indicates that the 45 km long Gangua nullah, which has taken the shape of a sewer mainly due to the waste water it receives from the city through drains at different points, with 19.9 mg Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) in one litre of water, is the most polluted.
A water body is considered polluted when the BOD level exceeds 3 mg in one litre of water. The BOD level of Daya to which the waste water of Gangua nullah is drained without treatment remains around 4.7 mg/1. On the other hand, the BOD of Brahmani between Rourkela and Biritol has remained 6.3 mg/1 indicating the water of the river on the stretch remains polluted. Guradih Nala in Rourkela has a BOD level of 8 mg/1.
The CPCB report suggests that the BOD level of Kathajodi in Cuttack-Urali stretch is 3.6 mg/1. Mangla river in Puri is also polluted with a BOD of 4.6 mg/1. BOD of Mahanadi in Sambalpur-Paradip stretch is around 3 mg/1.
CPCB had obtained the water quality data from states for the period between January and December 2020. Data of different rivers and water bodies of other states has also been submitted by the CPCB to NGT in connection with hearing of a petition regarding contentious monitoring of emission and discharges, said NGT advocate Sankar Prasad Pani.
Pani said it is high time the State government constructed adequate number of sewage treatment plants (STPs) and effluent treatment plants (ETPs) to check water pollution in rivers and natural water bodies. He said water quality monitoring should be put in public domain like it has been done for air quality monitoring online.