Nullahs treated only on paper

Tribune News Service

Haridwar October 11

Contrary to the claims of the Haridwar Municipal Corporation, the Uttarakhand Peyjal Nigam, the Irrigation Department, the Construction and Maintenance Unit for Ganga, a majority of the nullahs that they have been shown as tapped in documents are polluting the Ganga in the Kumbh mela area, which is spread across Haridwar, Rishikesh, Pauri Garhwal and Tehri Garhwal.

There are three drains flowing into the Ganga at Brahma Kund, Har-ki-Pauri and adjacent ghats where millions of pilgrims arrive to take a dip every year.

The Uttarakhand Peyjal Nigam claims they have tapped the nullahs at the Kangda Mandir, Nai Sota, Nago ke Haweli and Kusahghat in the Har-ki-Pauri mela zone that are flowing into the Ganga.

Similarly, the Laltaura nullah, which passes through major ashrams, dharamshalas and temples, flows into the Ganga canal at the Birla-Alaknanda ghat where a large number of pilgrims take a dip every day.

The Peyjal Nigam has shown 22 nullahs as tapped in Haridwar alone. According to the data obtained by The Tribune, while about 11 of these nullahs have actually been fully tapped, others are still flowing into the Ganga and the Ganga canal.

Haridwar Mayor Manoj Garg wants powers for the Municipal Corporation under the Namami Gange project so that the civic body could oversee the tapping of nullahs in its periphery. He says as several departments are involved in the Clean Ganga project, many a time projects get delayed due to the multiplicity of the nodal agencies.

RK Jain, Executive Engineer, Construction and Maintenance Unit Ganga, says the department has tapped a majority of the nullahs in the Kumbh mela zone and the work is going on to ensure the remaining are also treated.

No. of drains -- Place

22 -- Haridwar

24 -- Swargashram, Pauri Garhwal

5 -- Tapovan, Tehri Garhwal

15 -- Dhalwala, Muni-ki-Reti, Tehri Garhwal