Gomti river in Lucknow more polluted than Ganga in Varanasi: CAG report

The Gomti river in Lucknow is even more polluted than the Ganga in Varanasi, a CAG report has revealed.

The CAG, which studied the pollution levels in the two cities from 2011 to 2015, said the temple town, despite having a higher population density, had performed better than the state capital with regard to water and air pollution and solid waste.

"Water quality of the Ganga at Varanasi has improved whereas the quality of the Gomti river waters worsened," states the report for the year ending March 2016, tabled recently in the Vidhan Sabha.

The report also said that the vehicular population in Lucknow was over twice of that of Varanasi, which contributed to higher air pollutant levels in the capital.

It said the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board's monitoring of air pollution is "inadequate".

The ​Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board(UPPCB) also did not monitor six out of nine parameters for assessment of the quality of water in rivers and other water bodies due to insufficient testing facilities in the laboratories, the report said.