Stakeholders in Bharalu restoration project

The Gauhati High Court’s directive to the State Government to furnish details regarding the interim measures to deal with the pollution of the Bharalu River has put the spotlight on the challenges in the restoration of the tributary of the Brahmaputra. There is no alternative to a complete halt to the discharge of raw sewerage into the river to reduce its pollution level. The residents and owners of commercial establishments along both banks must volunteer to undertake alternative arrangements and stop the discharge of sewerage from their compound to the river in the interim period until a comprehensive sewerage project for the entire city is commissioned. The state cabinet granted approval to the Rs 1460 crore Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-assisted Guwahati Sewerage Project (phase I) in January. Ironically, the JICA signed the loan agreement with the Government of India for the project nearly eight years ago, in 2015. As mentioned in the agreement, the project was scheduled to be completed and facilities put into service by March 2022. Inordinate delay in project execution has aggravated the problem, as the volume of untreated water discharged to the river has also increased with the rise in population in the intervening period. The city does not have an integrated sewerage system and depends on septic tanks, due to which untreated sewage discharges into the drains in the neighbourhood and outfalls into the river and other water bodies. The level of biological oxygen demand (BOD) indicates the pollutant organic material in water, and a high BOD is a key indicator of a high pollution level in water. The BOD level of drain water in the city is found to be 90 mg/litre, nearly 4.5 times higher than the effluent standard of treated municipal sewage of 20 mg/litre. The BOD level of the Bharalu River was found to be in the range of 30.8 mg/litre to 37.9 mg/litre during the period from January to November last year. The total length of the Guwahati Sewerage Project with the Guwahati Jal Board as the implementing authority will be 872 km, and the total treatment capacity is estimated at 187 million litres per day. On completion of the project, South and East Guwahati will have an extensive network of sewers covering more than 1 lakh households. Elderly residents recollect how they used to bathe in the river that has now become a sewage channel for the capital city. The BOD level standards prescribed by the National River Conservation Directorate for the bathing quality of river water are 3 mg/litre. The authorities and city residents must collectively shoulder the responsibility of restoring the water quality of the river to its original status. Over the years, the siltation in the river has also destroyed its ecology. The solution to the problem lies in addressing the problem of soil erosion in the city hills. With an end in sight to the problem of slope cutting and tree felling due to encroachment on the hills, the problem of soil erosion has only worsened. The changing pattern of rainfall with heavy rainfall on denuded hills has aggravated topsoil erosion, which in turn adds to the siltation problem of the Bharalu river and the city’s wetlands. As storm water flowing down the hill and carrying heavy loads of silt is discharged into the river, routine de-siltation measures cannot provide a lasting solution to the problem of siltation. The Pollution Control Board of Assam found that in addition to 39 outfalls in the entire stretch of the river from Jonali Point to Bharalumukh, there are many small household drains that discharge wastewater directly into the Bharalu River. A section of irresponsible residents also dump garbage in the river, while plastic waste dumped in city drains is also carried to the river. While the sewerage project will put a halt to the discharge of untreated wastewater into the river, the dumping of garbage in the river must stop immediately. The Guwahati Municipal Corporation taking drastic measures like the imposition of heavy fines and the cancellation of trade licences against the dumping of garbage in the river is critical to addressing the problem. The PCBA Action Plan for the Bharalu River envisages that, for any river conservation project to be successfully implemented, public awareness is of utmost importance. “Unless the public is made aware of the irreversible damage and pollution caused by indiscriminate littering and dumping of waste and garbage in drains and water bodies connected to the Bharalu River, the project cannot be implemented in the true sense of the word to achieve conservation,” it states. Save Bharalu Abhiyan, a public awareness campaign to save the dying river by a forum of like-minded citizens led by Dr. Rabin Mazumdar, has triggered fresh hopes. The campaign needs wider patronage by organisations, citizens’ groups, socio-cultural organisations, and educational institutions to help it grow. Guwahati residents, playing their role as key stakeholders in the restoration of the Bharalu River, can only save it.