DEHRADUN: The water of the Ganga from Gangotri to Rishikesh has become clean enough for drinking, said state government officials.
Chief Secretary Om Prakash said, "Water of Ganga is so clean from Gangotri to Rishikesh that it is fit for drinking. The water from Rishikesh to Haridwar and up to the state limits, the water is fit for bathing."
The officials also said that their target is to clean the lower stretch of the river to match the cleanliness of the Gangotri-Rishikesh stretch.
They added that 29 sewer treatment plants have been completed and are functional. The rest of the three remaining STPs will be completed by March 2021.
The government is already planning to set up a committee related to the environment in each district in accordance with the orders issued by the National Green Tribunal.
The CS said that efforts are being made to gain the purity of water till the Mahakumbh 2021 starts.
In May this year, Ganga water was found fit enough to be used for drinking after decades, revealed recent research by the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee.
The institution was assigned the task to test the water of the holy river by IIT-Kanpur from Devprayag in Uttarkashi district to Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar.
The IIT-K was assigned the task to study the river by National Mission for Clean Ganga.
The testing results indicated that there were no bacteria in terms of MPN/100ml which identifies the quantity of bacteria commonly referred to as fecal coliforms act as an indicator for fecal contamination of water.
Apart from this, biochemical oxygen demand is also below 3mg/Liters. Low BOD is an indicator of good quality water, while a high BOD indicates polluted water.
The results of the study, which tested the waters of the river on 28 parameters of Bureau of Indian Standards, declared it fit for drinking.