MAHAKUMBH NAGAR (UP): Daily sample testing of river water by the Pollution Control Board, round-the-clock separation of flowers and pooja material from water, a 200-km temporary drainage system to channel all greywater to treatment facilities and state-of-the-art technology to deal with human waste are among the measures being taken to ensure the Ganga is "dip-safe" during the Maha Kumbh.
Maha Kumbh, a mega-religious event held every 12 years, will begin on January 13 and last 45 days in Prayagraj. More than eight crore pilgrims have taken a holy dip at the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers.
On significant bath days, like on Mauni Amavasya on January 29, officials estimate a footfall of 50 lakh visitors. These visitors, the authorities say, are expected to generate nearly 16 million litres of faecal sludge and about 240 million litres of greywater (wastewater generated from cooking, washing and bathing) per day.
According to the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) of the Maha Kumbh Mela, Vivek Chaturvedi, the river water is safe for taking the holy dip.
"A team from the pollution control board is doing sample testing of the river from different ghats daily, and the levels are under control. The second area of attention is the pooja waste that goes into the rivers; flowers, coconuts, and other things are offered as part of rituals. We have deployed machines on various ghats to fish these out of the river every two hours," he told PTI.
"There is a team of Ganga Sevadoots, who are stationed on ghats to promptly collect and dispose of the material to maintain the purity of the river and the ghats. They work in rotational shifts," he added.
According to Uttar Pradesh government officials, of the Rs 7,000 crore the state government is spending on the Kumbh Mela this year, Rs 1,600 crore has been earmarked for water and waste management alone.
The administration is also taking measures such as installing 1.45 lakh toilets, establishing prefabricated faecal sludge treatment plants (FSTPs) to handle the waste and sludge collected in toilets' makeshift septic tanks, setting up a 200-km temporary drainage system to channel all greywater to treatment facilities, and installing temporary and permanent sewage pipelines. It also creates water treatment ponds, deploys sludge-carrying vehicles, and uses other state-of-the-art technologies.
Authorities use technology developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to manage human waste, especially faeces and greywater.
"We are ensuring that the water is of bathing quality all the time. As per the guidelines and specifications, BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand) should be less than three (units), that is, of the batting quality. The higher the BOD, the more the impurity. Impurity is in the form of organic material," UP Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh told PTI.
"So all the drains, which are not going to the sewage treatment plant, are being tapped temporarily using different technologies, and we will be tapping and treating them, not allowing any untreated sewage to reach the river," he added.
Singh explained that Sintex (plastic water) tanks are placed beneath each toilet so the faeces do not touch the ground.
"Almost three-fourths of the area is sandy and is reclaimed from the river. So, if you allow it (faeces) to touch the ground, it will eventually percolate and reach the river in 20-30 days, and this is what used to happen before 2019," he said.
"Before that, there was a concept of a flag area, and officials used to earmark the area and provide tents, and there used to be open defecation. However, from 2019 onwards, we will have individual toilets and toilets with Sintex (plastic) tanks. A regular desludging is done, and it is taken to the faecal sludge treatment plant. In 2019, a temporary treatment arrangement was made by oxidation ponds. This time, we have two FSTPs (a faecal sludge treatment plant) running," the UP chief secretary added.
Days before the commencement of the biggest 'Amrit Snaan'—on the occasion of Mauni Amawasya—the president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, Mahant Ravindra Puri, appealed to all the akharas participating in it to strictly adhere to the prescribed time limit and attempt to leave the ghat five minutes before the end time so that the ghats could be cleaned.
"The length of Ganga ji is approximately 12 kilometres, where the devotees can take the holy dip," Puri said, and made a fervent appeal to the devotees and pilgrims not to throw shoes and clothes in Ganga, saying, "This is not appropriate."
Meanwhile, cloth bags, steel plates and glasses are being distributed at the Maha Kumbh to ensure that the world’s largest religious congregation is plastic-free.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sah-Sarkaryavah Krishna Gopal launched the "One Plate, One Bag" campaign in Sector 18 on the Old GT Road to replace plastic bags and disposable items.
