Ganga 'by and large' fit for bathing at Haridwar: Centre

The water of the Ganga was "by and large" fit for bathing at Haridwar, but failed to meet the parameters "at certain times" in the downstream, the Rajya Sabha was told today.

Replying to a query in the Upper House of Parliament, Union Minister of State for Water Resources Vijay Goel also said the Centre had adopted a "holistic" approach to rid the river of waste under its Namami Gange programme.

"The water of the Ganga at Haridwar by and large meets the bathing water quality norms," he said, adding that however, some parameters were not met "at certain times" in the downstream.

Goel was responding to a query on whether the Central Pollution Control Board had pointed out that the water of the Ganga was found to be unfit for bathing at Haridwar.

The minister informed the House that the government had sanctioned six sewage treatment projects in Haridwar, in addition to four other specific pollution abatement initiatives undertaken at the holy city in Uttarakhand.

He said the authorities concerned were keeping a "strong" vigil on the industries at Haridwar to ensure a strict compliance of the stipulated environmental norms and implementation of the action plan on zero-liquid discharge and water conservation.

Strict action was being taken against those industries violating norms, added Goel.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)