Ganga Action Plan PDF

GAP : Ganga Action Plan Introduction Ganga is considered a holy river in the religious scriptures. The belief that the Ganga river is "holy" has not, however, prevented over-use, abuse, and pollution of the river. For ages, the Ganga has remained the lifeline of India. The river’s water has been us...

GAP : Ganga Action Plan Introduction Ganga is considered a holy river in the religious scriptures. The belief that the Ganga river is "holy" has not, however, prevented over-use, abuse, and pollution of the river. For ages, the Ganga has remained the lifeline of India. The river’s water has been used for drinking, farming, washing, navigating, etc, so much so that a sentimental bond has grown up with the river. People love and respect the river and even worship it as a divine entity. The river’s flow remarkably reduced over the years due to the dam’s creation and the high water abstraction rate upstream of the river. As such, the pollution problem of the river enhanced manifolds. The Ganga Basin, which is the largest river basin of the country, houses about 40% population of India. After traversing a distance of 2525 km from its source, the river meets the Bay of Bengal at Ganga Sagar in West Bengal. During its journey from the hills to the sea, municipal sewage from large urban centers, trade effluents from industries, and polluting waste from several other non-point sources are discharged into the river resulting in its pollution. Ganga action plan The Ganga action plan was launched by Shri Rajeev Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India on 14 Jan. 1986 with the primary objective of pollution abatement, to improve the water quality by Interception, Diversion, and treatment of domestic sewage and present toxic and industrial chemical wastes from identified grossly polluting units entering into the river. The other objectives of the Ganga Action Plan are as under: Control of nonpoint pollution from agricultural runoff, human defecation, cattle wallowing, and throwing of unburnt and half-burnt bodies into the river. Research and Development to conserve the biotic diversity of the river to augment its productivity. The new technology of sewage treatment like Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) and sewage treatment through afforestation has been successfully developed. Rehabilitation of soft-shelled turtles for pollution abatement of the river has been demonstrated and found useful. Resource recovery options like the production of methane for energy generation and aquaculture for revenue generation have been demonstrated. To act as a trendsetter for taking up similar action plans in other grossly polluted stretches in other rivers. Considering these facts, the National Ganga Action Plan was formulated to take the following measures: 1. Renovation of existing trunk sewers and outfalls to prevent the overflow of sewage into Ganga. 2. Construction of interceptors to divert the flow of sewers and other liquid wastes into Ganga. 3. Renovation of existing sewage pumping stations and sewage treatment plants and installation of new sewage treatment plants to recover the maximum possible resources especially bio-energy to operate the pumping and treatment plants and derive maximum potential revenue. 4. Biological conservation measures based on proven techniques. 5. Other sanitation schemes. A monitoring committee was framed by the Central Ganga Authority (CGA), the terms of reference of the said committee were: 1. Technical analysis and review of the progress made in the implementation of the action program approved by the Central Ganga Authority. 2. Assessment of shortfalls and gaps in the implementation aspects. 3. Additional points/suggestions to improve/expedite the implementation of the program. 4. Establishing a computer data-based collection/analysis system. 5. Providing technical advice/guidance to the Steering Committee on any of the issues which may arise as feedback during the implementation of the project. 6. Reporting to the Central Ganga Authority after every three months. 7. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is also finalizing a multimedia program to keep the public informed of various schemes’ progress under the Action Plan. Problem Statement The principal sources of pollution of the Ganga river can be characterized as follows: 1. Domestic and industrial wastes- It has been estimated that about 1.4 × 106㎥ d-1 of domestic wastewater and 0.26 × 106 ㎥ d-1 of industrial sewage are going into the river. 2. Solid garbage is thrown directly into the river. 3. Non-point sources of pollution from agricultural run-off containing residues of harmful 4. Pesticides and fertilizers. 5. Animal carcasses, half-burned and unburned human corpses thrown into the river. This case study focuses on inviting new quality solutions considering various aspects that can be taken up for implementation. Participants will be needed to come forward with innovative and feasible solutions to overcome the problems mentioned above. Below are the points on which participants need to focus: 1. The sources and nature of pollution. 2. A more rational plan for the use of the resources of the Ganga for agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, forests, etc. 3. The demographic, cultural, and human settlements on the banks of the river. 4. Proposed design of STPs considering the following three main factors (a) population of the cities and towns (b) projections of the growth of the population, and (c) standards based on per capita sewage generation. 5. Improving the quality of the water. 6. Raise funds for subsequent phases of the Ganga Action Plan. The strategy should be able to describe the future course of action approaching all possible agencies for raising financial resources such as ULBs, state governments, central government as well as bilateral and multilateral funding. 7. The possible revival of the inland water transport facilities of the Ganga, together with the tributaries and distributaries. Development of a comprehensive and basic plan 1. We need to develop a plan by which we can holistically reach the problem. The already devised plans involve many intermediaries wherein the transparency factor is cornered and only paper works are shown to the people at large. 2. The strategy should be formulated for different areas according to the demand. The people having apt knowledge of  that area should be involved to know the actual problem of pollution in the river. A thorough check should be done and a customer-friendly platform should be formed wherein the views of every individual should be considered. 3. The cleaning of the Ganges should go hand in hand with the progress and development of the vicinity which accounts for 40% of the total population of the nation. 4. Along with it, the religious and cultural sentiments and beliefs of people should be taken care of, since the government cannot deprive any person of the right to practice his/ her religion in a secular nation. 5. A self-sustaining plan should be preferred which is environment-friendly, cost-effective, and can be continued even in cases of insufficient funds or a backup for the said situation should be devised. Measurement of the quality The apt instruments are required to measure the quality of the water. The quality of water should be measured by a recognized testing agency. Further, the research should be made to evolve better machinery for precision in quality measurement. Guidelines: Eligibility: Students pursuing Undergraduate/Master’s Degree in any discipline. Team Size: Maximum size of up to 3 members.  No Double Troubles: Only one entry would be acceptable. In case of multiple entries, by default, the first one would be taken for granted. Zero Plagiarism: The documents would be tested via special software for plagiarism. If some duplication would be found, the entire work would be rejected from the competition. Multistage Rules: The event comprises 2 stages. Round 1: All the teams have to submit an abstract solution explaining the basic structure of their idea by 15th April 2021. Abstract Background Statement of Problem Research Technical Report 1. Description of concepts, theories, and/or approaches involved in the proposed solution. 2. The technical aspect of the proposed solution. 3. Detailed technical specifications and pictorial representations (block diagrams/ flow chart). 4. Description of the flow of operations demonstrating key features and functionality. 5. Performance estimate of the solution. Results Pros and cons(further improvement) of your solution. Round 2: Shortlisted participants should present their concept to a panel of judges on 18th April 2021, who will evaluate it based on its feasibility, innovation, and cost-effectiveness. The concept behind the plan and how it will tackle the specified challenges. Queries: For any query, you can contact: Ankit Babu | +91- 8949878936 Shrikant Sharma | +91-9460500230 Or mail your queries with Subject “Query | EVENT NAME | Cogni ID | TeamName” to [email protected]