Water quality assessment of river Yamuna in Delhi stretch during Idol immersion
2013
Kaur, Biba Jasmine | George, M.P. | Mishra, Sandeep
The manuscript deals with the assessment of water quality of River Yamuna during the idol immersion. Immersion of idols in the river during the festival season has become a cause for concern because of increased use of cheap lead and chrome-based paints in most of them. Increased use of plaster of Paris is not only affecting the humans and animals dependent on them but is also deteriorating the ecological condition of the river. During the immersion ceremony, puja articles such as polythene bags, foam cut-outs, flowers, food offerings, decorations, metal polish, plastic sheets, cosmetic items, all of which are highly polluting, are also thrown into the water. The sampling was done in three phases; pre idol immersion sampling, during idol immersion and post immersion sampling. The samples were collected from 13 different locations of the Yamuna along the Delhi stretch, primary sites for practicing idol immersion. The following parameters were analyzed to assess the quality of the river: Dissolved Oxygen, Biological Oxygen Demand, Chemical Oxygen Demand, Total solids, and pH. Methods prescribed by APHA were used throughout the work. The composed data was analyzed for the year 2011, to understand deterioration in the water quality of the river due to idol immersion practices. According to the results, the value of DO, BOD, Total Solids and COD were found to vary from 6.0–7.5 mg/L; 3.3–38 mg/L; 430–1268 mg/L; 28136 mg/L respectively. The low levels of DO and high BOD and Total solids levels at different sites indicate the poor water quality due to idol immersions.
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