I can't say no!!: August 2014

The over 2,500-km long Ganges flows through one of the most densely populated regions of the Gangetic Plains, supporting a population of over 400 million, almost a third of the national population.

The hope over Varanasi would have been unthinkable a year ago. Local civic authorities had almost given up on this city of 15 lakh people with a population density of 2,400 persons per square km — till the point Modi entered Varanasi.

A total of 764 industrial units, 118 municipal bodies and 1619 villages are polluting the Ganga river. A concrete plan is required to improve the situation.”

The effluents released over the last decade by sugarcane and paper mills, slaughterhouses and other industrial units have made the water “poisonous.” Independent studies have shown an extremely high content of heavy metals and mercury, lead, zinc, phosphate, sulphide, cadmium, iron, nickel and manganese in the water which has become so poisonous that it does not have any aquatic life.

The water has contaminated the groundwater of hundreds of villages located on the banks of these rivers which flow through Ghaziabad, Noida, Saharanpur, Meerut, Shamli, muzaffarnagar and Baghpat.

Nation-wide, different cities together generate 38,000 MLD of sewage. But, the treatment capacity exists only for about 12,000 MLD of sewage.

Magnitude of the problem can be understood from the fact that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has indentified 144 drains that mostly discharge untreated waste to the tune of 6475 MLD into Ganga alone.

“The total suspended solids were found to be 7500 mg per litre as against the permissible 200 mg.
The presence of sulfide was 285 mg per litre as against the permissible 2 mg
iron was 38 mg as against 3 mg.
Extremely high levels of mercury and lead were also found,

Germany has cleaned the longest European river, the 1,232-km Rhine,

"The Rhine, which was the most polluted river in the Europe, is so clean today that the water can be used for drinking as well.

Bharti's ministry will be keenly awaiting the IIT report. Vinod Tare of IIT-Kanpur, one of its authors, has hinted that there could be controversial recommendations including banning hydroelectric dams on the Ganga, something the ministry of power or concerned state governments may not take kindly to. "Dams and barrages disrupt continuity of the water flow. You can't afford to use a river like Ganga merely for harnessing power," Tare says

In October last, district magistrate Pranjal Yadav had ordered removal of hoardings and advertisements along Ganga ghats.

Damodar, one of the most polluted rivers in the state, would be undertaken along with the clean-Ganga drive. “Damodar is one of the tributaries of Ganga. Damodar is battling with industrial effluents. Coal- and power-based industries are polluting the river

About Varanasi

one-third of the city's population (1.6 millions in 2011) is of Muslims. The importance of Muslims is noticed by existence of their 1,388 shrines and sacred sites, in contrast to Hindu's over 3,300 shrines and sacred sites.

Since the beginning of the 11th century, Muslims started settling down here with a predominance of Sunni sect (90%), followed with Shia, Ahle-Hadith and Ahmadiya. 14 are more popular of which five are mazars of Ghazi Miyan, Maqdum Shah, Chandan Shahid, Maulwi ji ka Bara and Yakub Shahid.

Famous Persian Shia poet Sheikh Ali Hazim (1692-1766) came to Varanasi in 1734 and settled here. Mirza Ghalib (1797-1869) also stayed in Banaras for four months. He developed a high sense of attachment to this place, and wrote a poem of 108 stanzas in Persian (Chiragh-i-Dair), of which 69 stanzas directly show his feelings towards Banaras.

Kabir, the saint poet, never compromised with fanaticism, whether propounded by Muslims or Hindus. Kabir raised his voice against social evils through the process of mass awakening and self-realisation that may help to constantly promote harmonious coexistence, he mentioned.

I can't say no!!

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Vijaywada Metro rail

Thursday, August 7, 2014

River Cleaning