32 Stns To Monitor Health Of Yamuna

New Delhi: Delhi govt will soon set up online monitoring stations along the Yamuna and various drains flowing into the river to get real-time data on pollutants entering the waterbody.According to officials, 32 online monitoring stations are likely to be established by the end of this year. These stations will provide data on various parameters, including biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, total nitrogen (as nitrates and nitrites), total phosphorus, and ammonia, among others. While 18 stations will come up along the Yamuna, 14 will monitor drains falling into the river.“These online stations will monitor the state of the river and the drain 24x7 and will transfer the desired information online on a real-time basis to the servers of Delhi Pollution Control Committee in exact compliance with the latest guidelines and standard operating procedures of Central Pollution Control Board,” said a Delhi govt official.“It will help us get real-time data on the quality of the water in drains and river locations, which can be viewed in the command and control centre. This will allow us to easily identify the location and time when conditions deteriorate,” the official added.The process to identify a company to set up monitoring stations has already been initiated. Officials said the various locations identified for monitoring stations included Palla in the north of Wazirabad, ISBT bridge, ITO bridge, Nizamuddin bridge, Okhla Barrage, Najafgarh drain, Metcalf House drain, Khyber Pass drain, and Sweeper Colony drain, among others. They added that several drains such as DD6 at Singhu border (Sonepat), Bahadurgarh drains, and those entering the Yamuna from Uttar Pradesh are suspected of carrying pollutants and will also be continuously monitored through the upcoming online stations.“The selected bidder company will be entrusted with the installation and commissioning of the electro-magnetic equipment and will run it on a trial basis for three months. It will operate and maintain the system for five years after the trial run is complete,” said an official.As per reports, the 22-km stretch of the Yamuna between Wazirabad and Okhla in Delhi, which is less than two per cent of the river’s entire length, accounts for around 80% of its pollution load. Untapped wastewater from unauthorised colonies and slum clusters along with the poor quality of treated wastewater discharged from STPs and common effluent treatment plants is said to be the main reason for the high pollution levels in the river. While Delhi generates nearly 792 million gallons of sewage a day (MGD), the 37 sewage treatment plants have a combined capacity of handling only 667 MGD.