National Pollution Control Day | The toxicity of water bodies in India

The 2nd of December is marked as the National Pollution Control Day of India to spread awareness about pollution and its hazardous effects on our ecosystem. The day also commemorates the numerous lives lost on the 2nd and 3rd December 1984 in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy.

India is a country with many geographical miracles, some of them being the abundance of natural resources. The country has the fifth largest coal reserves amongst several countries and is the third largest coal producer in the world. However, India is also the fourth largest energy consumer. India also has the third largest grain harvest supporting more than 700 million of the population. The situation in India has not been the same as there has been a major water crisis looming over the country for the past few years. This is an unacceptable condition considering that India stands ninth amongst the largest freshwater reserves in the world. The major problem with India and the cause for its resource deficit is the ever-growing population of the country that brings with it many problems like misuse and mismanagement of resources.

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How safe is the water in the rivers of our country?

A major part of the population in India is dependent on the river basins as their only source of freshwater, prominently states located in the Indo-Gangetic plains. However, according to a report by the Central Water Commission (CWC), 42 rivers across India have a minimum of two heavy and toxic metals present in the water beyond a permissible limit making it hazardous for consumption or any other use. Ganga or Ganges, that is the national river of India is now polluted with five heavily toxic metals namely, chromium, copper, nickel, lead and iron. Many other important rivers are polluted with around four heavy metals. The report also traces lead to be present in the greatest number of rivers. The major causes for the metallic contamination in the water bodies are the outflow of domestic wastewater, stagnant storm water from urban areas, sanitary landfill, agro-based waste and combustion of fossil fuels.

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Toxic rivers affecting food production

Other than being a major source of drinking water in the country, the rivers also affect food production in many areas of the country. With the depletion of groundwater level in many states, the dependency on river basic have increased manifold. The toxic nature of the riverine bed here becomes a more serious issue. A large number of farmers raise their crops with untreated water due to the lack of clean, well-treated water and the lack of awareness about the hazards of using contaminated water. The concentration of toxic metals in grains and vegetables grown in areas with polluted soil has increased rapidly. According to medical experts, the farmers and members of their families are under a serious threat of contracting deadly diseases due to continuous exposure to harmful sewage borne micro-organism and metals. The presence of toxic substances in the food produced across the country poses a huge threat to the public health in India.

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The most common problem in India lies in the mismanagement of resources. Only 30% of the water is treated and the remaining is discharged into the streams. This National Pollution Control Day let’s think about the condition of water bodies in the country and the source of water for millions. Your contribution is just being mindful about the disposal of waste and the irresponsible use of freshwater.

Let’s take the Har Ek Boond pledge to make every drop of water count:

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