Devise an action plan & take steps to tackle pollution in Hindon, GMC officials told

Ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad municipal commissioner has asked senior officials to take immediate steps to tackle deteriorating condition of Hindon and devise an action plan to reduce pollution in the river.In a meeting on Sunday, water department officials were asked to speed up bioremediation, a process that uses microorganisms to degrade organic contaminants in soil, groundwater, sludge and solids. GMC will start its campaign by first cleaning the nine drains connected to the Hindon river.Senior GMC officials were asked to monitor the cleanliness of the nine major drains in the city which are affecting the Hindon river. The nine drains that are to be tapped run through Arthala, Karhera, Dasna, Meerut Road, Sahibabad, Jawli, Indirapuram, Pratap Vihar and Hindon Vihar before emptying into the river.“These instructions have been given to the concerned department to stop the dung coming from the surrounding areas. Instructions were also given to install mesh, so that the waste coming through the drains can be stopped,” GMC commissioner Vikramaditya Singh Malik said.There are around 90 villages located on the banks of the polluted stretch of the river — which goes from Saharanpur to Ghaziabad. The total population of the area is estimated to be around 3.8 lakh. Additionally, there are several industrial units — primarily sugar, pulp & paper, distilleries, textile, slaughter houses and tannery units, among others — which contribute heavily towards the pollution in the Hindon river.In its latest status report, the pollution control board stated that they have ordered the closure of 28 industrial units along the Hindon river and imposed total environmental compensation of Rs 153 lakh on 27 of the violators.Previously, in 2022, a UPPCB report to the NGT had noted that there were 310 industrial units in the area, of which 220 were dumping pollutants into Hindon river. Most of these units belonged to the pulp, tanneries and dye industries.The UP Jal Nigam estimates that industries along Hindon generate 943.6 million litres of sewage per day.

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