Namami Gange: How Haridwar Is Gearing Up For Maha Kumbh 2021

The holy city of Haridwar attracts lakhs of tourists every year and combined with a high population, the city generates over 108 million litres of sewage per day. But its existing sewage treatment plants (STP) have the capacity to treat only half of it.

The government, under Namami Gange programme, has taken several steps to ameliorate the pollution of river Ganga flowing through the city.

Of the 22 major drains in Haridwar, 21 have been successfully diverted. The bathing of cattle in Ganga has also been stopped and this has improved the quality of water in the river, Lalit Walia, a resident of the city was quoted as saying by NDTV.

The government is also constructing new sewage treatment plants. Jagjeetpur STP wth capacity of 68 MLD (million litre per day) and 14 MLD STP at Sarai are near completion. With them, the total capacity will become 145 MLD, which will be adequate to meet the sewage treatment demands of the town for coming years too.

The plants are being constructed under hybrid annuity model and the total cost of all the sewage management projects in Haridwar is Rs 413.87 crore.

Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General of National Mission for Clean Ganga said that the Sarai STP will start a trial in May and it will establish by June.

“It will help us ensure that no drain carries untreated sewage into river Ganga. So, that’s a big thing to happen,” he said.

The city is also gearing up for Maha Kumbh 2021 which will see lakhs of devotees visiting within few days. To accommodate them, new ghats are being constructed.

“We have taken up development of Chandi Ghat worth Rs. 253 crores and 706 meters of Ghat has been developed and very beautiful steps have been constructed there. Bathing rooms have been constructed; an information centre and a lot of facilities for pilgrims have been added at Chandi Ghat,” said Asok Kumar, Executive Director (Projects) at National Mission for Clean Ganga.

He added that world renowned artists had decorated the ghat with mural paintings and it can accommodate 10,000 people at a time. “We have also decorated it with murals printings, as artists from all over the world coming in and doing mural paintings there. That is an added attraction to that,” he said.