Bengaluru : 17 rivers in State polluted, says CPCB report

Bengaluru : According to the recent report by the Jal Shakti Ministry, 17 rivers flowing in Karnataka are polluted. Arkavathi, Lakshmantirtha, Malprbha, Tungabhadra, Bhadra, Cauvery, Kabini, Kagina, Kali, Krishna, Shimsha, AsangiNalla, Bhima, Kumardhara, Netravathi, Tunga, Yagachi are the polluted rivers in the State that are mentioned in the report.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in collaboration with the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) is regularly monitoring the water quality of rivers & other water bodies in the country through a network of monitoring stations.

As per CPCB report of September 2018, 351 polluted river stretches have been identified on 323 rivers based on monitoring results in terms of Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels, an indicator of organic pollution. State-wise details of polluted river stretches are given below.

As per another report published by CPCB in March 2015, sewage generation from urban areas in the country is estimated at 61,948 million litres per day (mld), against which available sewage treatment capacity is 23,277 mld.

"CPCB has identified 2,968 grossly polluting industries (GPIs) in the country. Out of these, 2,318 industries are operational and 650 industries have closed down on their own. Out of the 2,318 operational industries, 2,190 industries are complying with prescribed environmental standards, whereas 128 are non-complying.

Accordingly, show-cause notices have been issued to 56 non-complying industries, closure directions have been issued to 55 industries and legal cases have been filed against 2 industries. State-wise status of GPI units in the country is given below," the ministry's statement read.