New Delhi: The Central government clarified on Thursday that it has not received any request from National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) to conduct research on the use of Ganga water as a cure for coronavirus.
However, NMCG did send two proposals – ‘Ganga sediments could immunize against COVID-19’ and ‘Treatment of COVID-19 by Ganga Jal’ – for Indian Council of Medical Research to examine on April 28, 2020.
Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti, provided the information in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) informed that based on water quality monitoring of river Ganga during COVID-19 pandemic and studies conducted by them, State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and other agencies to assess impact of lockdown on Ganga and its tributaries, it was observed that no definite trend exists in different water quality parameters observed for various stretches of Ganga and its tributaries.
However, CPCB and SPCB reports suggested varying degrees of improvement in a few water quality parameters, which may be attributed to factors like increased availability of fresh water due to rainfall in river catchment areas, no industrial effluent discharge and reduced human activity such as restriction on bathing, ritual disposal, restricted tourism, solid waste, mass washing of clothes etc during lockdown period.
State governments have formulated river action plans to restore water quality of polluted river stretches for intercepting, diverting and treatment of municipal wastewater from urban centres.
