Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments and their pollution control boards to prepare for a pollution-free Yamuna-Ganga during the Kumbh Festival which begins in Allahabad Jan 14.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has also instructed the Delhi Jal Board to ensure that the performance of the sewage treatment plant at Keshopur in west Delhi is stabilized so that it functions optimally.
“The Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand SPCB’s (State Pollution Control Board) have been directed to ensure that all the paper units discharging their effluents into river Ganga or its tributaries comply with the prescribed norms,” said a statement by the PMO.
“Monitoring of water quality in river Ram Ganga and river Kali and their tributaries is being initiated on a daily basis,” it added.
The availability of adequate water for ‘Kumbh snan’ (holy dip) from Tehri Dam is also being monitored by the PMO.
Adequate water release into the Ganga is considered necessary to not only maintain the flow but also to ensure that the river is clean enough for the millions to take a dip.