River Krishna among the highly polluted rivers

​New Delhi: Planning to take a holy dip during Krishna Pushkaralu in Telangana or Andhra Pradesh? But beware think twice.

In what comes as a shocker ahead of the much publicised Krishna Pushkaralu, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPSB) has declared Krishna as highly polluted just as Godavari in both the Telugu States. The study was based on the bio-chemical demand (BOD) levels, a key indicator of organic pollution.

This was stated by the Union Minister of State for Environment Anil Madhav Dave in his written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

The Minister pointed out that keeping the rivers clean was the responsibility of the State governments and the same were receiving funds under various provisions and schemes including AMRUT cities now.

Development of proper sewage systems was the primary responsibility of the States, he added. According to him, several stretches of important rivers in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were notified as polluted by the Central Pollution Control Board.

In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, he said Godavari and Krishna rivers were found polluted in several stretches in the two States. Apart from these two, Handri, Tungabhadra, Pennar and Kundru in AP and Manjeera,

Musi, Nakkavagu, Sabari and Manair in Telangana had also been thus listed. There are in all 302 stretches polluted on 275 rivers in the country.