New Delhi: The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) successfully diverted 114 million gallon/day sewage to treatment plants through pumping stations before being discharged into three drains last year, thereby reducing the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) load in the Yamuna river, officials said on Wednesday. According to a Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) official, it was found that the BOD load, the level of organic pollution, on the Yamuna river declined by 56 tonnes per day in 2018 compared to 2017.
In 2017, the average BOD load was 279 tonnes per day, a study by the CPCB found. The CPCB has also submitted an interim report on the decreased BOD load to the Yamuna Pollution Monitoring Committee that was constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in 2018.
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The official said that they are still working to ascertain the reasons behind the decrease which augurs well for aquatic life but said that the Delhi Jal Board’s (DJB) interceptor sewage project which aims at improving the quality of water flowing into the Yamuna by ensuring only treated sewage is discharged into the three major drains- Najafgarh, Supplementary and Shahdara, which empty into the Yamuna.
The CPCB official said the DJB informed them that they have ensured that 114 million gallon/day of untreated sewage has been diverted through pumping stations to sewage treatment plants, thereby ensuring that treated sewage is discharged into the drains.
NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.
