Uttar Pradesh : Pollution level in Muna worst : UPPCB

The Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) data shows that the pollution level in Yamuna has worsened this year. Yamuna enters Noida without dissolved oxygen and exits the city with high level of pollution.

The UPPCB report does not mention data on industrial waste such as the amount of hard metals, mercury, arsenic, lead, etc. The state pollution body has tested the water on basic parameters. In which dissolved oxygen (DO) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and pollution levels were found to be very high.

As per the data, the dissolved oxygen (DO) level of Yamuna at Okhla barrage, the entry point of the river, was zero in May 2021.

The minimum DO requirement is 4 mg per l for Category D (spreading aquatic life) water and 6 mg per l for Category A (drinking).

As per the UPPCB report, Noida is the only city in Uttar Pradesh where Yamuna falls under the E category, which makes the river unfit for drinking even after conventional treatment and disinfection, bathing or survival of fish and other aquatic organisms.
January has been the only month when the river entered the city at the Okhla barrage, which had some life with a DO value of 1.4 mg per litre.

UPPCB Regional Officer Praveen Kumar said that uncapped sewage from Shahdara drain entering from Delhi is responsible for the poor condition of Yamuna.

He said, Shahdara Nala from Delhi meets Yamuna after Okhla barrage near Sector 15A. The drain is unused and brings the effluents directly into the river. It is a major source of pollution. In addition, work is underway to treat it through Engineered Wetlands at Kondli Nala, Noida. Then the water of Hindon which is very polluted falls into the Yamuna.