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Rs 5,000 fine for throwing waste in Yamuna

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AGRA: The Yamuna , by the time it flows through Agra, has nearly 50 times more biochemical oxygen demand ( BOD ) than the permissible limit. The Central Water Commission (CWC) has declared that the river water at Agra is safe neither for irrigation nor for domestic use. Water in the river, now polluted beyond repair, an official said, is also contaminating ground water.BOD is the amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic biological organisms to break down organic material, in a given time and at a certain temperature. Once BOD increases beyond a certain limit, it becomes a pollutant, leading to the growth of harmful bacteria.BOD forms when the equilibrium of chemical compounds and solid waste is disturbed in a water body.A CWC official said, “The current level of BOD in Yamuna is 55 milligram per litre (mg/L), which is enormously high as compared to the permissible limit of 2 mg/L. This contamination level is irreversible . Water is unusable, both for irrigation and drinking. In fact, polluted water from the Yamuna is also partially responsible for the contamination of ground water in Agra, as the TDS (total dissolved salt) in water has jumped to almost 1500 mg/L from 500 mg/L, three times the permissible limit,” he said.A senior CWC scientist, speaking on condition of anonymity, told TOI, “Treatment plants of the Jal Nigam are not equipped to purify the contamination of Yamuna water. The treated Yamuna water supplied to 18 lakh city residents has many harmful elements which may cause cancer, gastrointestinal disorders, skin or mental illness.”To check the level of contamination in the Yamuna, the CWC hired a private firm to provide real-time data on the impurity in the river. TOI found, however, that the ‘water contamination level check instrument’ in Agra was defunct, as solar panels of the instrument were stolen on December 14 last year.Executive engineer of the Lower Yamuna division of CWC, AK Mittal told TOI, “We are aware of the defunct instrument. We have written to the private firm to repair it as soon as possible.” Three such water contamination check instruments were installed in three places – Moradabad, Agra and Lucknow – about a year ago.