The Indian civilisationemphasises the concept of motherhood. Phrases like Mother Earth, Motherland and Ma Ganga are part of the popular lexicon. The river Ganga has a special place in the Indian psyche. It is the tri-path-gamini or the traveller of three worlds, as well as the baitarni, a river of deliverance.

The battle-cry to purify sacred river, considered to be one of the 10 most polluted rivers of the world, galvanised the electoral campaign of the 16th Lok Sabha. The Government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi renamed the Ministry for Water Resources as the Ministry for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, demonstrating its unwavering commitment to the river.

However, the first drive to clean the Ganga, the Ganga Action Plan-I, was launched in 1985, and augmented in 1993 as GAP II. The Government invested Rs4,168 crore on pollution control, maintenance of environmental flows, and conservation under GAP-I and GAP-II. The Modi Government set up an Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission, called NamamiGange in May 2015, with an outlay of Rs20,000 crore.

The consortium of seven Indian Institutes of Technology which prepared the Ganga River Basin Management Plan estimated that total sewage generation of the 11 basin States is 12,051 million litres a day, against the available treatment capacity of 5,717 MLD. According to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, the total sewage offloaded into the Ganga is an estimated 7,301MLD as against the available capacity of 2,126 MLD, There are 764 grossly polluting industries, such as tanneries, pulp and paper, sugar, textiles, and chemicals, close to the river. These industries generate 501MLD of waste water, a substantial part of this flows into the river. Further, an estimated 14,000 metric tonnes of municipal solid waste, enters the river every day.

Interception, diversion and treatment of sewage is, therefore, required before the treated water is discharged into the river. But due to procrastination in land acquisition, adverse weather conditions, court cases and want of funds, many sewage treatment plants, from Badrinath to Munger, sanctioned between 2008 to 2010, are yet to take off. Besides, there is the problem of the sub-optimal performance of STPs and sewage pumping stations, the non availability of funds for operations and maintenance of sewerage works, erratic supply of electricity, unavailability of qualified man power.

In short, human excreta when discharged into water, poisons it. To prevent this, a lot of money has to be spent. The problems is likely to aggravate in the future as India becomes from water-scarce country.

Water bodies such as lakes, ponds, tanks and streams accumulate rain water, recharge the groundwater, and the ground water, in turn, charges the river in lean months. Anupam Mishra, working on water management, testified that there were 25 to 30 lakh ponds before the British came to India. The ancient system of water preservation in tals, khals, chals and baweries was an effective time-tested method of rain-water harvesting.

It met local needs round the year, created forest cover and charged the ground water. It was a steady source of water to the tributaries.

Among world rivers, the Ganga has the highest point of origin, steepest gradient, highest kinetic energy and a unique water quality. The white-ishcolour of the Ganga and the blue-ishcolour of the Yamuna signify the distinct quality, quantity, morphology and dynamics of these rivers. According to experts, sedimentation of the dam reservoir increases water density, changes water colour and reduces oxygen content, deteriorating the water quality.

The construction of 450 big and small hydropower projects in Uttarakhand remains a matter of fierce controversy. Malika Bhanot of Ganga Ahwaan, an Uttarkashi-based NGO, rued the construction of bumper to bumper hydro projects. Reportedly, 53 per cent of river Bhagirathi has been adversely affected, despite the assurance that the ecological flow and aviralta of the Ganga. will not be damaged. The ongoing tunneling and mining in the fragile Himalayas is also doing incalculable damage to the ecology. For example, due to blasting, many water springs have disappeared.

The diversion of the Ganga into tunnels and lakes in Uttarakhand has also deprived the people of a glimpse of the river. Now, the people have to plead with construction companies to release some water so that they can perform the last rites for their deceased and other religious ceremonies.

Incessant flow is the soul of a river. Yet, the nation also needs hydropower which is a clean and green energy option. The purity and the e-flow of the Ganga and hydropower need to go hand-in-hand.