Kanpur: Ganga rejuvenates after NMCG’s pollution abatement initiatives

Dec 11, 2019

Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Dec 11 (ANI): Located on the west bank of Ganga River, Kanpur is a densely populated city famous for its leather industries. The city produces an estimated 450 million liters of daily municipal sewage and industrial effluent whose major portion was flowing directly into the holy river until recently.However, with the launch of the Namami Gange Programme that aims to clean and rejuvenate Ganga, the picture changed quickly as 13 out of 16 major drains in Kanpur have been completely tapped and the sewage and industrial effluent has been diverted to Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs). In November 2018, over a century-old Sisamau drain, which produces over 140 MLD of sewage, was completely stopped from discharging sewage into the Ganga. This was the biggest drain-tapping initiative untaken at a cost of over Rs. 60 crore. The sewage has been diverted via pipelines to two sewage treatments plants (STPs) on the outskirts of the city – 80 million liters a day to Bhingawan STP and 60 MLD to Jajmau STP. Tapping of major drains in Kanpur is a big achievement to keep the holy river and its tributaries clean. Under the AMRUT Scheme, sewer infrastructure will be developed for houses located on the banks of Ganga by 2020 so that the household waste does not flow directly into the river. Deemed as "The Leather City of the World", Kanpur has some 400 small, medium and big tanneries; many of them are over a century old. With the launch of Namami Gange programme, stringent actions against these tanneries have been taken so that no effluents flow into the river.