Ministries of Environment & Forest, GoI to raise the issue of pollution in the International Forum. The High Court also passes the order to different concerned Ministries, GoI to reconstruct / remodel the Burning Ghat, setting up of garbage treatment plant at Ranaghat and restrain the Municipal garbage being dumped on the bank of the Churni River. The Ministry of External Affairs says that the issue of pollution of common rivers between India and Bangladesh including Churni River has been raised before Bangladesh Govt. Ministry also initiated the specific issue of Churni river pollution on July 2014 and conveyed to the Foreign Ministry of Bangladesh to address the problem effectively. However, there has not been any redressal by Govt. of Bangladesh till date. In the meantime following activities are in progress to control the pollution of the river:- 1. The work of repair & renovation of Burning Ghat in Ranaghat Municipal area is said to be in progress.
2. Schemes for sewage treatment plant and solid waste management in Municipal area are in progress.
3. The High Court passes the order to Ranaghat Municipality to furnish details on the status of solid water generation and disposal in the form of an affidavit.
4. Ranaghat Municipality is in the process of taking difficult steps for collection of solid wastes and their disposal.
5. In the upstream of Ranaghat Municipality, water pollution is contributed by Mathabhanga river of Bangladesh. In the downstream, because of discharge of untreated waste water( 15 lakh lit of waste water per day) from Ranaghat Municipality, there is no self-purification of river water with consistently very low dissolved oxygen level, high BDO level, high total coliform and fecal coliform, indicative of high organic pollution. The 14 th Feb 2017, WBPCB water quality report of Churni river from Churni Majhdia station shows that quality of water is extremely contaminated with Total coliform 350,000 MPN / 100ml( 500 or less MPN / 100 ml is normal) in which fecal coliform is 280,000 MPN / 100ml, on the other side Dissolved Oxygen is 1.7 Mg / l( 5 mg / l is normal).
Editor- Sujit Choudhury, Published by Girija Sankar Chattopadhay, IRBMS, assisted by C S Das Bairagi & Nilshikha Das(© Integrated River Basin Management Society)
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Integrated River Basin Management Society