Almost 60% of sewage going to rivers is untreated: UPPCB

Among these rivers are Ganga, Yamuna, Kali, Ramganga, Sai, Ghaghara, Kosi, Rapti and Isan

As much as 59 per cent of the total sewage generated in 54 municipal towns located along the rivers in Uttar Pradesh is being discharged into the rivers untreated, according to a recent report of the UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB). Among these rivers are Ganga, Yamuna, Kali, Ramganga, Sai, Ghaghara, Kosi, Rapti and Isan.

According to UPPCB report, the total domestic sewage generation in these 54 urban areas, located in 37 districts, is around 3,000 million litre daily (MLD). But facilities available are sufficient to treat only 1,215 MLD. Therefore, more than 1,700 MLD sewage is being discharged in the rivers without being treated.

The situation is unlikely to improve in the next decade. The report said that the sewage generation in these cities is estimated to increase to 4,264 MLD by 2025. But the new sewage treatment plants (STPs) being set up there will have additional capacity to treat only 1,370 MLD. These STPs are being constructed under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) and other such schemes.

The report said that the maximum untreated sewage is being discharged in the Ganga, the most important river of the state. It flows through 26 cities where a total of 1,125 MLD sewage is generated, but only 385 MLD is treated. The STPs are available only in Anoopshahr, Fatehgarh, Kanpur, Allahabad, Mirzapur and Varanasi, and these cities do not have sufficient capacity to treat the sewage.

The sewage generation is maximum in Kanpur - 426 MLD, 295 MLD in Varanasi and 232 MLD in Allahabad. The STPs are treating only 171 MLD in Kanpur, 101 MLD in Varanasi and 89 MLD in Allahabad, the report said.

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