High court seeks govt reply on state of Godavari

The Bombay HC on Thursday directed the state authorities to file an affidavit by January 24 on the actions taken to prevent the pollution of Godavari River. The HC was hearing a PIL stating that currently the river has become similar to a sewage drain and that the natural oxygen level is very low. The NGO “Godavari Gatarikaran Virodhi Samiti” had filed a PIL stating that the river has been highly polluted as the drainage of the region is directly connected to the river. “Eighty per cent of the pollution of the river is due to the faulty drainage system. The river, which is connected to several religious sentiments has become unhygienic,” said advocate Pravatak Pathak. “We have petitioned the court to direct the civic and state authorities to clean the entire Godavari River and prohibit them from polluting it further,” he added. The litigants, Rajesh Pandit, Nishikant Pagare and Jagbir Singh said that they have been fighting with the authorities to resolve the issue for the last two years. They had conducted a survey along with the MPCB in June 2012. The survey revealed that currently the dissolved oxygen (DO) level in the river is close to nil in several places and that the biochemical oxygen, which should be just five per cent, has surpassed the normal levels. This water is not fit for consumption, it said. A high level of DO in a community water supply is good because it makes drinking water taste better. The accepted norm is that the count of DO should be more than 5 parts per million (ppm) and the BOD count should be less than 5 (ppm) The survey, which was conducted in June 2012, collected water samples from eight different places in Nashik city. The tests showed alarming results. The main worry of the petitioners is that during the Simhasta Kumbh Mela, which is to be held in 2015 in Nashik, many pilgrims will be consuming the river water. “The mela is a religious event. Many devotees not only bathe in the river, but also drink it as holy water,” said Mr Pandit. A division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Anoop Mohta on seeing the images of the current state of the river expressed their shock and directed the state to file a detailed reply.