The River Pollution Levels in India Improve Gradually

The Indian rivers have started to show improvement, and there is some slight decrease in the level of pollution which was reported in 2023. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reports that few places along the rivers where people could no longer bath has been reduced and this is a small though positive sign of clean waterways. The main measurement that is employed in assessing this development is the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) that is one of the prime indicators of organic pollution in water.

Learning about Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD).
BOD is the measurement of the oxygen necessary to microorganisms in order to decompose the organic matter in the water. The individual indicates that the water body is contaminated and not safe as recreational by having BOD that is above 3 milligrams per litre. The high level of BOD is a pointer of high organic pollution, thus it is a good indicator of water quality in rivers.

Polluting Waterspaces and Patterns.
CPCB monitors Polluted River Stretches (PRS) which refers to a set of two or more locations within a river that are above the BOD safe level. There is a decline in PRS with 296 PRS in 271 rivers in India in 2023 but 311 PRS in 279 rivers in 2022. Such degradation demonstrates a slow return of the rivers to good health although there are still many locations that are under stress.

State-wise Distribution
Maharashtra had the most number of polluted stretches at 54, then Kerala (31), Madhya Pradesh and Manipur (18 and 18 respectively) and Karnataka (14). Three states, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand had the highest critical areas (so-called 'Priority 1' stretches), five states in each of which needed immediate repair.

Priority 1 diverges - Pollution hot spots.
Priority 1 stretches are those whose BOD levels will be up to more than 30 mg per litre representing extreme organic contamination. Positively, it was observed to reduce the number of such stretches, 45 in 2022, and to 37 in 2023 which is positive and is owed to the mitigating efforts of clean-up and pollution-control efforts.

Surveillance and Policy Implications.
CPCB has a large network of 4,736 surveillance areas that consist of rivers, lakes, canals, and drains. The data is deployed in the period of two years in order to trace tendencies and estimate the river health. This fact enables the policy formulators to focus clean-up activities, imposing industrial rules, and sustainable waste disposal.

Looking Ahead
Although the investment of polluted stretches is a positive occurrence, attention to rivers conservation, involvement of people and tightening of the application of environmental laws are necessary. Rivers which are cleaner do not only conserve life but also promote public health including provision of safe water by millions of people across the entire country.